(NAFB) – Retail food prices have increased 1.6 percent in the first six months of 2021, less than the rate over the same period last year.

The Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service says the 2021 increase is equal to the historical average over the same six months from 2000 to 2019. In the first six months of 2021, prices for five food categories increased at a rate slower than in 2020 and years prior, including eggs, dairy, fresh vegetables, cereals and bakery products, and “other foods.”

Conversely, prices for three food categories increased in the first six months of 2021 at a rate faster than in 2020 and in years prior, including fresh fruits, fish and seafood, and fats and oils. Inflationary pressures differ by food category, according to USDA. For example, fresh fruit prices currently are increasing more than four times faster than their historical average rate because of low citrus supplies and increased exports.