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%Beef and %Coffee prices in the U.S. have hit record highs, putting additional stress on consumers and their grocery budgets.

Grocery prices in America rose 0.6% between July and August of this year, the steepest one-month gain in three years. Grocery prices in the U.S. are 30% higher than before the pandemic.

However, much of that increase is due to skyrocketing prices in two categories of food and beverages – coffee and beef.

Coffee prices surged 3.6% in August, the biggest monthly jump since 2011, and are now 21% higher than a year ago.

Recent droughts that have damaged coffee bean crops in Brazil and Vietnam are mostly to blame for the increase.

However, U.S. President Donald Trump's 50% tariff on Brazil, the world's largest coffee exporter, also accounts for the record price increase.

At the same time, limited cattle supplies continue to put upward pressure on beef prices, which are also at record highs.

Prices for beef and veal rose 14% in August from a year earlier.

The average price of ground beef hit a record high of $6.32 U.S. per pound last month, and is up nearly 60% from the start of 2021, according to inflation data.

While egg prices have come down 40% from their peak reached in March of this year, they were still 11% higher in August than a year ago.

A major outbreak of avian flu that has led to the killing of hundreds of thousands of egg laying hens accounts for the sharp rise in egg prices, say analysts.