By Rachel Coyne on October 12, 2011 in
Forget the crunchy or creamy debate; would you rather your peanut butter cost you an arm or a leg?
Just like many other crops, the peanut harvest was affected by the bizarre weather of this past summer. Due to the extremely high temperatures, the crop of Runner peanuts (the kind most used in peanut butter) has been devastated, causing the price of the raw peanuts to more than double. Which means consumers will soon be facing skyrocketing peanut butter prices at the supermarket.
Some manufacturers are already planning on discontinuing their less popular products in order to save the peanuts they have for their better sellers. Smucker's has announced its intention to stop selling certain lines of Jif brand peanut butter and to primarily focus on offering the classic Creamy and Crunchy varieties. (Editor's note: After the orginial pubication of this blog, Jif contacted ConsumerSearch and informed us that Smucker's temporarily suspended production of eight Jif peanut butter varieties in certain sizes. This suspension of production is not permanent and these Jif items will be available again in January.)
So be prepared the next time you're craving the comfort of the lunchtime PB&J: Peter Pan brand is set to increase by 25%, Jif by 30%, and Skippy by 35%.
At those prices, it might be cheaper to switch to truffle and caviar sandwiches.