May 9/Prepared Foods’ May 2011 “Market Watch” -- One of the fears surrounding the efforts to reignite the troubled economy has been a rise in inflation, and with steady increases in commodity prices, it was only a matter of time before those prices were passed on to the consumer. That has now begun.
General Mills Inc. has indicated it expects inflation to accelerate and, in turn, will raise prices to keep pace. Noting higher costs for grains, meat and dairy, among other ingredients, the company believes inflation on those and other items will grow even more in the next fiscal year (beginning in May 2010) than the 4-5% rise it had forecast for the prior fiscal year.