[/media-credit]By: Sarah Petersen
You may want to rush to the store and load up on as many bags of Reese’s cups that you can. Word is just in that peanut butter prices may rise 30 to 40 percent this year after one of the worst peanut harvests in decades. CNNMoney reports that Kraft will raise prices for its Planters brand peanut butter by 40 percent starting Monday, while ConAgra has stated an increase of more than 20 percent for its Peter Pan brand that went into effect in October.
If you don’t already have a storage shelf full of this stuff, you may want to look into where you can find the cheapest deal. Although the prices are about to rise, most stores haven’t made the change yet, and coupons are still floating around for this stuff. Waiting to take stock up may cost your pocket later.
According to the Washington Post, peanut butter is in 90 percent of households in America and most kids will eat on average 1,500 peanut butter sandwiches by the time they graduate from high school. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches have been a staple for most students, even into college life.
Georgia, the largest peanut-producing state in the country, may be the one to blame. Record-breaking heat and a lack of rainfall this summer prevented some peanut seeds from even germinating in the field, the AP reported. Other plants that did grow were baked in the hot summer sun, producing poor-quality nuts or sometimes nothing at all.
