EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — Rising diesel prices could soon show up in higher grocery bills for El Paso shoppers as the cost of moving food climbs.

Trucks can only carry so much, and long hauls often require multiple fuel stops.

Local produce and freight leaders said that is driving up the cost of getting food to stores, with those increases often passed along to consumers.

Marsha Davis said she has already seen her grocery costs rise sharply.

“My grocery bill really just continues to climb. I might spend $50 one week and then $150 the next because of prices going up,” Davis said.

Nick Delgado, CEO of Quality Fruit and Vegetable in El Paso, and Troy McDaniel, president of Transnational Transportation, which distributes produce in the Borderland, said rising diesel prices have pushed freight costs up hundreds of dollars per trip.

Both said limited truck capacity can mean multiple trips, especially outside El Paso, and that can drive fuel costs two to three times higher.

“They say the national average is $5, but right now, you can go anywhere outside of El Paso. Any part of town, it’s $5.25, $5.40, you get away from El Paso, it could be up to $5.60 a gallon,” McDaniel said.

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Delgado said the impact is significant for businesses that rely on trucking to bring in produce from around the country.

“It impacts tremendously because, of course, we depend on trucks to bring in our produce from all over the country. Freight charges keep going up, fuel has gone up tremendously, and it’s jumping quickly,” Delgado said.

Bloomberg reported diesel prices are now topping about $5 a gallon in some parts of the U.S.

McDaniel said the higher prices are already affecting delivery costs.

“Every trip that we’re taking right now is costing two to three hundred dollars more just to put fuel in the truck to do the same run that it was doing three weeks ago,” McDaniel said.

Delgado said those increases ultimately land on shoppers. “Unfortunately, as a consumer ends up paying for that at the end,” he said.

So, how much more could El Pasoans end up paying for groceries?

Carlos Aguilar, an economics professor at El Paso Community College, said consumers could see food prices increase by 10% by April.

In three to four weeks, that could mean a 10% jump in food prices — about $60 more — and a family of four could see an increase of about $600 on their food bills.

Some shoppers said they are already feeling the strain.

“And now, just like having to spend more money on everything, it’s become so much more difficult to survive,” Michael Rey said.

Davis said increases are showing up in everyday items.

“We buy cat food, and it’s gone up probably about $6 or $7, and then hamburger meat’s gone up,” Davis said.

Maria Ferrer de Alvarez said she has changed where she shops to try to keep costs down.

“What I do is I just go to supermarkets that are lower in price, and that’s where I buy instead of going, you know, to the high-end supermarkets,” Ferrer de Alvarez said.

El Paso freight companies said if diesel prices continue to climb, those costs will keep moving down the supply chain and appear at the checkout line.

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