Patriotic New Yorkers are getting roasted at the register as they celebrate the Fourth of July this year.
Shoppers in the five boroughs are shelling out an extra $63 this year as they prepare for backyard barbecues marking the country’s 250th birthday.
The already sky-high prices of BBQ essentials surged a staggering 31% on average in the Big Apple since last year, according to a Post review of retail prices across Gotham grocery stores.
A typical cookout for 10 people — complete with hot dogs, beef hamburgers and all the fixings, plus dessert and alcohol — will set shoppers back a whopping $295, compared to $232 this time last year.
“These prices are just insane,” New Yorker Diana Hernandez, who was buying food at the East 14th Street Target Friday, told The Post. “You can’t buy nothing.”
That gooey slice of cheese to top a grilled hamburger is one of the items that climbed the most – a pack of 16 Kraft singles went from $3 last year to $5 this year – a bump of 67%.
Booze also took a big hit. A 12-pack of Budweiser or Bud light cans sold for $11 last July 4th at Morton Williams but is now retailing for $17 — up a shocking 55%.
Imported wines are up too because of the impact of tariffs. A bottle of Chateau Lamothe De Haux Bordeaux Blanc that sold for $20 last year at a Manhattan wine store is now going for $22 — up 10%.
Condiments weren’t spared from inflation either. The same 38 oz. bottle of Heinz ketchup that sold for $4 last summer is now going for $5.60 – a 40% increase.
The price of tomatoes hit a record high in April, driven by tariffs on Mexican tomatoes and bad weather south of the border, and in Florida, damaging crops.
At ShopRite, a pound of beefsteak tomatoes was $2 last year, and this year is selling for $2.50 — a 25% difference.
“Everyone’s stretched,” said Fedy Rizk, who was buying food this week at the Target on the South Shore of Staten Island. “Two, three dollars — it adds up.”
Hamburger meat is up as much as 29% in the city since last Independence Day, because of the smallest cattle herd in 75 years in the United States amid severe droughts and higher production costs.
A pack of six original Bubba’s brand beef burgers, weighing 1/3-pound cost $14 the week before last July 4th at the local ShopRite. This year, the same item at the same store is selling for $18.
“It’s too expensive,” lamented shopper Kele Nkhereanye. “I’m just trying to survive.
“July 4th isn’t going to be the same. . . . I don’t think it’s fair.”
Other grilling favorites rose too. The same pack of 10 classic Oscar Mayer hot dogs that sold for $2.50 last year is now going for $3 – up 20%.
Another major driver of soaring BBQ costs is the rise in global oil prices, making it more expensive to transport food to supermarket shelves. Though crude oil prices are back to where they were before the Iran war, US gas prices won’t fall back down, experts told The Post.
The post Unamerican: Cost of average July 4th BBQ surges 31% to $295 in NYC: ‘just insane’ appeared first on New York Post.
