The margin pressures retailers have been reporting recently from inflationary food costs could ease in the year ahead, according to projections from U.S. government agencies. Higher production levels and a relatively strong U.S. dollar could keep downward pressure on the pricing of some of the largest commodities, according to Annemarie Kuhns, an economist with the Food Markets Branch of the Economic Research Service at the USDA, while retail food prices are expected to increase slightly. Read more…