NEW YORK - Next year, U.S. consumers will be shelling out more dough for food, despite a predicted decline in commodity prices, the Wall Street Journal reports. The good news is that American farmers will have more soy, wheat and corn crops in 2012, thus lowering the cost of those commodities. The bad news is that it will take some time for that surplus to reach food manufacturers and therefore food prices will rise before they will fall.

Contributing to higher commodity prices in 2011 have been droughts, floods and frosts, which have caused corn to soar to a record high in June, and wheat skyrocketed into the stratosphere as well. Arabica coffee futures reached a 14-year record in May.

Food companies such as Kellogg, General Mills and Kraft have already increased prices or reduced product sizes in an effort to contain the rising cost of raw materials. Analysts expect that to continue into 2012.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) predicts supermarket prices will jump 3 percent to 4 percent next year, which is similar to this year??s increase. However, the agency said prices would probably settle in the second half of the year.

"We're seeing that retailers really have no choice but to start increasing prices in order to restore their profit margins, so we're expecting food prices to continue rising in 2012," said USDA economist Richard Volpe.