Thanks for Nothing: Pecan Prices Up 22%

For those who can't face Thanksgiving without pecan pie, you're going to pay dearly for the privilege this year: the price tag on the tasty dessert is up by 22%, reports CNN. Sure, core inflation is a low 2%, but food prices are on the rise, and pecans are up a whopping 57% since 2009, now topping $11 per pound. "There has been a steady price increase in pretty much everything, but the increase this year for pecans was unusual," said a Brooklyn baker.

You can thank soaring demand for the nut in China for much of the rise, along with a severe drought in pecan-growing parts of the United States. Texas alone saw its usual harvest of 70 million tons of pecans slashed to as little as just 30 million tons, by some estimates. "Drought or China, Texas pecans are harder to find and will cost a bit more, but again, we reiterate. There will be pie," writes the Dallas Observer. (More pecans stories.)