An energy-rich supply chain<\/p>\n
The longer the war extends, the more drastic the impact on food prices. But if the war does end by the end of the month, as Trump has stated he\u2019s hoping to be the outcome, it\u2019s unlikely you\u2019ll see a spike in grocery prices, according to experts. \u201cIf we\u2019re talking just a few weeks, very likely you\u2019re not going to see this show up in your grocery receipts,\u201d Dr. David Ortega, an agricultural economist and professor at Michigan State University, told Fortune. \u201cBut if we\u2019re talking a month or more, a few months, then it\u2019s a different story.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not exactly clear when the war will relent. Trump has offered conflicting messages as to when it could end, telling Axios<\/a> Wednesday there is \u201cpractically nothing left\u201d to target. But Iran has said<\/a> it\u2019s ready to fight a \u201clong-term war of attrition,\u201d signaling the war could extend beyond the framework Trump has suggested.<\/p>\n However, prices aren\u2019t expected to increase just yet. Ortega said it could take time to see any impact in the short-term. \u201cThere\u2019s a lag between when the shock happens and when you see the full effect on your food prices,\u201d he said. \u201cIt could be the better part of a full year before we\u2019re seeing the full impact show up at the grocery store.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, the food supply chain is incredibly energy-intensive, with high sums of energy required at each stage of the process. \u201cEnergy is required to grow and harvest food, and then to manufacture it, to transport it, and to store it, and then to sell it,\u201d Volpe said. \u201cIt compounds down the supply chain, and it\u2019s problematic.\u201d<\/p>\n Shipping\u2014just one stage of the food supply chain requiring a massive amount of energy\u2014includes rates that are largely determined by diesel prices. FedEx<\/a> Ground and home deliveries, for example, add a fuel surcharge<\/a> of 24.25% when diesel prices reach $4.54 a gallon. Diesel was above $4.80<\/a> as of Sunday.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image_24630e.png\"\/)
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