As gas prices plummet, retailers are discounting everything from clothes to shoes to lure shoppers in stores. So, why aren’t grocery prices headed south, too?

In the most recent report by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, food prices in the Boston area in November were up 7 percent from a year earlier. During the same period, gas prices, which had a huge run-up, declined 28 percent.

The reason? High fuel prices – which factor in at every level from farmers growing food to trucks transporting it – was but one component pushing grocery costs higher.

Another is that meat and produce prices fluctuate with ebbs and flows in supply and producer costs. Additionally, prices of shelf-stable items such as soap and canned goods are the product of extensive negotiations with wholesalers and producers, most of which took place months ago.

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