Is Dog Food Expensive in 2024 Because of Inflation?

As inflation rates fluctuate, consumers continue to grapple with rising prices across various sectors and the dog food industry is no different. Despite a gradual decline in monthly year-over-year (YOY) inflation rates since 2022 in the United States, dog food prices remain a concern as it has become quite expensive in the last few years.

Why is dog food expensive in 2024?

Dog food prices have soared in recent years, with a staggering increase of nearly 24% in 2024 compared to January 2021, as per Pet Food Industry. Additionally, when you compare it to January 2019, the spike increases to 26.5%.

A factor influencing the prices of pet food is the producer costs, which are measured through the pet food producer index (PPI). John Gibbons’ research has revealed that producer prices for dog food have shown minimal fluctuations since March 2023.

Stability in producer prices would normally be a good thing. However, the persistently high levels of these costs present a concerning aspect of the situation.

Is dog food expensive because of inflation?

According to Forbes Advisor, high PPI causes inflation which, in turn, results in high prices for consumers.

In January, the pet food PPI dropped slightly to 6.4% year over year from 6.6% in December 2023. Yet, producer costs remained significantly high. In fact, they saw a 28.4% increase from January 2021 and a 30.7% surge from January 2019. 

Moreover, prices are creeping up, especially during the spring months, which could lead to small monthly hikes in dog food expenses. 

In Gibbons’ words, “The 2023 spring PPI lift was less than in 2022. It also started two months earlier than the lift in 2022 and only lasted one month, rather than two.”

In addition, he mentioned that producer prices tend to stay steady for approximately eight months. So, with the current stability lasting for 10 months, there’s a chance of an increase soon.