As Iran War Pushes Up Gas Prices, Fresh Food Distributors Add Fuel Surcharges
The New York Times • • business
Key Points:
- Jesse Filion, owner of Keegan-Filion Farm in Walterboro, S.C., has introduced a $5 fuel surcharge for home deliveries and restaurant orders to offset rising fuel costs without increasing overall product prices.
- The farm’s products are already priced high due to their free-range and humane processing practices, making a direct price hike less feasible.
- The food industry is highly vulnerable to fuel price fluctuations since diesel powers farm equipment and trucks that transport the majority of agricultural goods in the U.S.
- Brent crude oil prices have surged 56% amid the war with Iran, and diesel prices have increased by 44%, intensifying cost pressures across the food supply chain.
- Fuel surcharges are becoming more common for certain perishable and imported food items as businesses seek to manage rising transportation expenses.
