With the price of oil sky-rocketing and the word recession frequently being flung around, The Royal Gazette decided to see how international events are impacting your wallet, and specifically your food bill.

The world has watched as food and fuel prices have soared with the price of oil going above $138 last week — yesterday it was trading at $131 a barrel. It has risen by 25 percent since the beginning of 2008.

Meanwhile the UK is reporting the price of food leaped by twice the rate of inflation in April and prices have risen 1.6 percent between April and May alone. The US is reporting the highest food inflation in 17 years and several emerging market countries have reported food riots.

So how is this hitting your budget?

The Royal Gazette compared the price of a handful of items advertised in last year's June 4 edition and compared them to the prices listed in this year's advertisements on the same date.

A watermelon at the Market Place has gone up 40 cents to $12.99 in 2008, while the cost of Kraft salad dressings have jumped 30 cents and Perdue Chicken thighs has risen by 10 cents to $1.59 per pound. Meanwhile the price of Herts potato chips has remained at $1.99 and Excel fresh boneless pork chops are still $3.99 a pound.

Over at Lindo's the price of Shake and Bake glazed BBQ is actually down 14 cents to $2.79 compared to the same period last year but Kraft shredded cheese is up 20 cents to $3.83. Oceanspray cranberry juice is up 40 cents compared to June 4 last year but Betty Crocker fudge brownie mix is still $2.35.

Recently released Consumer Price Index results showed food prices increased by one percent in April alone. And the Government's food consumer basket, which contained the same items every year, cost $100.20 in March 2006, $103.20 in March 2007 and $106.80 in March 2008.

Much of the rise in the cost of food was attributed to rising food and fuel prices.

Bermuda is completely reliant on food being shipped in every week. One of the few things that isn't imported is the carrot. But for almost everything else on your grocery list, residents have to purchase overseas goods which have been shipped from the US. This means that rising fuel prices can impact Bermuda more heavily than other countries because food must be shipped to the Island and then transported to the stores. Factor in the rising cost of electricity, as well as a myriad of other issues grocery stores are facing and it is easy to see how the price of food is rising.

Over the coming weeks The Royal Gazette will visit several grocery stores across the Island and check and compare the prices of a variety of items. We will look at how the fluctuating price of fuel impacts the Island's grocery stores on a weekly basis.

Last Wednesday we visited Lindo's in Warwick, MarketPlace on Church Street and the Supermart on Front Street and looked at the prices of 20 items. Almost every item was priced differently at each store.

Last week our basket of 20 items, which included goods such as broccoli, bread and chocolate chip cookies, cost $94.66 at Lindo's. But over at the Market Place, the exact same goods cost $102.87 and at the Supermart, it checked out at $106.39.

There were substantial differences between stores on particular items. For example, a bag of frozen Tyson's chicken breast tenderloins, lightly seasoned with lemon and herb, will set you back $15.99 at the MarketPlace, but over at Lindo's the same bag will cost you $13.89 and at the Supermart they'll charge you $14.99 for the bag. But if it's Honey Nut Cheerios you're planning to buy then MarketPlace is offering them for $4.19 while Lindo's will charge you $4.65 and the Supermart will ask for $5.15 for the same box.

Grocers explained that their prices depend on when they purchased the goods and also on their individual shop's pricing strategy. They also pointed out that some of the stores had weekly specials on the items we looked at.

In our series over the coming weeks, we will explore how international events are impacting your food bill and speak to people in a variety of industries, including truckers, farmers and shipping companies, to shed light on the issues at hand.