USDA blames Russia for rising price of Thanksgiving dinner

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USDA blames Russia for rising price of Thanksgiving dinner

The American Farm Bureau Federation says the average cost of a Thanksgiving dinner is up 20% compared to last year

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The Department of Agriculture says Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine is one reason why your Thanksgiving dinner costs more than it did last year.

A USDA memo this month said turkey prices will be higher because of this year’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), which led to the death of 8 million turkeys in 2022. But USDA also said "Russia’s war on Ukraine and drought across the United States" are other factors that are "pushing up the price of Thanksgiving staples."

USDA did not respond to questions from Fox News Digital about how Russia’s war against Ukraine is affecting turkey prices. President Biden and his administration have often blamed Russia for the broad increase in inflation and has referred to higher food and energy prices as "Putin’s price hike."

USDA's memo said the Biden administration has made progress fighting higher prices at the grocery store by noting that the 0.4% increase in grocery prices in October was the "smallest increase since December of last year."

That memo also downplayed the impact that inflation is having on the cost of Thanksgiving dinner compared to non-government estimates. It said the average cost of Thanksgiving retail staples like a fresh turkey, sweet potatoes, cranberries and green beans will only cost about 1% more this year compared to last year, and that substituting in a frozen turkey means a 6% increase.

But the American Farm Bureau Federation says the average cost of a Thanksgiving dinner is up 20% compared to last year. The cost of stuffing mix, frozen pie crusts, whipping cream, frozen peas and dinner rolls have all increased by more than 20%, the Farm Bureau said.

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