°µºÚ±¬ÁÏ

© 2025
NPR °µºÚ±¬ÁÏ, Colorado Stories
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Higher prices are likely for these 10 grocery items when tariffs hit

Indonesian fishermen unload their catch at the port in Jakarta on May 5, 2019.
Goh Chai Hin
/
AFP via Getty Images
Indonesian fishermen unload their catch at the port in Jakarta on May 5, 2019.

A trip to the grocery or liquor store is about to become even more expensive, economists say, following the latest round of announced by President Trump on Wednesday. Those tariffs — taxes paid by businesses on goods from abroad — come on the heels of a previous round aimed specifically at Canada, Mexico and China.

Prices for items such as seafood, coffee, wine, nuts and cheese are all expected to rise. And if you're tempted to grab a candy bar while you're in the checkout line, you'll probably have to pay more for that as well.

Food industry analyst Phil Lempert, also the editor of , estimates that with the latest tariffs added onto the import taxes already imposed on grocery items from China, Canada and Mexico, "probably almost half of the products in a supermarket — about 40,000 products — will be affected by these tariffs, whether it's the entire product or just an ingredient."

Joseph Balagtas, a professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University, says food prices will also be affected by other factors related to tariffs, such as higher costs for fertilizer from Canada and a weaker U.S. dollar.

"A main takeaway here is that the country-specific, food-specific tariffs will not tell the whole story," he says. "This is such a big change in policy that there will be broader implications."

It's impossible yet to know how much the tariffs will affect prices, but with the 10% tariff for many countries and higher "reciprocal tariffs" on other nations, the could provide some clues.

Here are 10 grocery items you might want to keep an eye on and their country of origin (with tariff rates in parentheses).

Seafood

Top sources: Canada (25%), Chile (10%), India (26%), Indonesia (32%) and Vietnam (46%) are the largest suppliers, to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

This category is likely to take a big hit because the U.S. the vast majority of its seafood — up to 85% according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — and several countries that supply fish and shellfish to the U.S. have been among the hardest hit by the tariffs.

Coffee

Top sources: Brazil (10%) and Colombia (10%), according to .

The U.S. is the world's largest importer of coffee, with about 80% of U.S. roasted imports coming from Latin America. More than 60% comes from just two countries — Brazil and Colombia, USDA says.

Fruit

Top sources: Mexico (25%), Canada (25%), Guatemala (10%), Costa Rica (10%) and Peru (10%)

Mexico supplies 60% of U.S. fruits, such as avocados, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries, according to Lempert. But Guatemala and Costa Rica are also leading exporters of bananas to the U.S. Guatemala also ships melons, plantains and papayas, according to , while Costa Rica pineapples, avocados and mangoes.

"These products don't have a long shelf life, and with the tariffs, we're going to face significant issues with both price and availability," Lempert says.

Alcohol

Top sources for wine: the European Union — France, Italy and Spain (20%). New Zealand (10%) and Australia (10%), according to .

Top sources for beer: Mexico (25%), the Netherlands and Ireland (both with the EU's 20% tariff), and Canada (25%)

If your favorite summer beverage is Modelo, Corona, Heineken or Guinness, you'll likely be paying more. from Mexico have also seen a surge in recent years and will be affected by the tariffs.

Lempert says the imported alcohol sector is likely "to be clobbered." He also notes that beer sold in cans is also going to get a double hit due to tariffs on China and other aluminum producers.

Bottles of tequila from Mexico are displayed on a shelf at a Safeway store in San Anselmo, Calif., on March 3.
Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
/
Getty Images
Bottles of tequila from Mexico are displayed on a shelf at a Safeway store in San Anselmo, Calif., on March 3.

Beef

Top sources: Canada (25%), Mexico (25%), New Zealand (10%) and Australia (10%), according to .

Although 90% of beef consumed in the U.S. is domestically produced, tariffs will likely add to existing price pressures. The cost of ground beef for consumers, for example, is already at and according to the , the U.S. cattle herd is the smallest it's been since 1951.

Rice

Top sources: Thailand (36%) and India (26%), .

Although most rice sold in the U.S. is domestically produced, nearly a third is imported, mainly jasmine rice from Thailand and basmati rice from India.

Cheese

Top sources: Italy, France, Spain and the Netherlands (all subject to 20% EU tariff), according to .

Parmigiano-Reggiano, brie and Gouda could also see price rises.

Nuts

Top sources: Vietnam (46%), Côte d'Ivoire (21%), Brazil (10%), Thailand (36%), according to the .

Cashews, pecans and macadamia nuts are likely to see the largest price increases.

A farmer holds cocoa beans at a farm in the village of Offoumpo, near Agboville, in Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa on April 7, 2024.
Issouf Sanogo / AFP via Getty Images
/
AFP via Getty Images
A farmer holds cocoa beans at a farm in the village of Offoumpo, near Agboville, in Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa on April 7, 2024.

Chocolate

Top source: Côte d'Ivoire (21%) and Ecuador (10%), according to .

The Hershey Company, one of the largest U.S. importers of cocoa beans, it sources its supply from Brazil, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea and Peru.

NPR reached out to Hershey, which makes Reece's Peanut Butter Cups and Kit Kat bars, among others, to inquire about future price increases. A spokesman for Hershey, Todd Scott, said the company could not comment because it is in an earnings window.

However, Lempert says the tariffs come on top of " in cocoa beans for probably the past two or three years because of the weather and the political climate in … Africa."

Olive oil

Top sources: European Union (20%), particularly Spain, Italy and Greece.

"Olive oil prices have gone through the roof," Lempert says. "They're going to go even higher."

Copyright 2025 NPR

Scott Neuman is a reporter and editor, working mainly on breaking news for NPR's digital and radio platforms.