ORLANDO, Fla. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service reports in 2025 overall food prices are anticipated to rise slightly faster than the historical average rate of growth.

What You Need To Know

  •  U.S. is currently the world's second largest cheese producer, behind the European Union

  •  The last time Champagne and French wine saw a tariff was in 2019

  •  Cheese makers in the U.S. exported over $8 billion worth of products to 145 countries in 2024

This year, prices for all food are predicted to increase 3.2%. 

Egg prices in February of this year were 58.8% higher than in February of last year. With President Donald Trump doubling down on tariffs in an attempt to boost the economy, local businesses are bracing for prices increases for the stock on their shelves.

In Winter Park local business owner Annie Thornton can’t stop smiling when she talks about the cheeses in her shop. The owner of Simply Cheese at one point describing her cheeses by calling them her children.

The U.S. also happens to be one of the world’s largest cheese producers — according to the USDA, the U.S. is second only to the European Union.

Inside Simply Cheese in Winter Park, 70% of the cheeses on the shelves come from abroad. Now with tariffs impacting more than half of the world’s cheese production coming in to the U.S., Thornton said she is mindful of what could be coming to her and her customer’s bottom lines.

“We are going to roll with it and see how it plays out, see what changes,” Thornton said. “See what I can do to keep everything affordable for my customers and keep us just chugging along.”

While prices are not changing currently, Thornton says she’s not going to bulk order, either, but rather wait to see if and when the market changes.

“One of things with cheeses is it continues to age and it has a very kind of finite shelf life,” she said. “We are not buying in bulk or anything like that, we are going through operations as is and monitoring those prices.”

Cheese prices will not be unique, though, to price increases.

The Champagne region of France is the only place in the world true Champagne can be produced. Flute’s, down the road from Simply Cheese, is the only Champagne bar in the area selling it by the glass. 

“A little nervous, it’s an expensive product,” Flutes co-owner Martiza Spero said. “Margins are thin, so if a tariff goes up too much it gets dangerous.” 

And this isn’t the first time Campagnes or other products from France have been hit. In 2019, the World Trade Organization authorized the U.S. to tax $7.5 billion worth of European Union imports. Now with tariffs on the horizon yet again, prices will likely be going up again.

“Hope it doesn’t happen,” Flutes co-owner Christian Arqueros said. “But you know, if 10% goes up, then that is where pricing will go unfortunately.”

With tariffs impacting goods coming in to the country, there is something to consider as American businesses are also being hit with tariffs.

According to the International Dairy Foods Association the U.S. exported over $8 billion in dairy products to 145 countries last year. Mexico and Canada brought in more than 40% of that.