Brace yourself for higher prices on practically everything.
Increased costs for wheat, sugar and gas fueled by global events will translate into signifcant markups in area stores, reports the New York Daily News.
Local shopkeepers say they can no longer hold the line given the increased costsof cotton, wheat and other commodities, price increases are inevitable on almost everything we use.
"It's like a tsunami - when it happens, it hits you later," said Ricardo Rezk, owner of empanada maker Rico M. Panada in Mott Haven, the Bronx told the paper. "The warning siren has sounded."
Wheat prices have more than doubled along with double digit hikes in the costs of sugar and corn, the paper reported, naturally leading to higher prices for foods and sodas.
"[It] is a perfect storm. Food prices are going up at precisely the time when people have less money to buy food," said Joel Berg of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger told the News. He predicted that rising prices will drive more New Yorkers to food pantries and soup kitchens.
Gasoline prices are also on the rise, a greater hardship considering that mass transit also costs more. "I can see gas going to $4 a gallon," said Dino Lombardi, 44, an accountant told the paper. He often buys gas at the Hell's Kitchen Hess station, where it's $3.49 a gallon.
