General Mills, Kraft forced to raise prices to offset commodity costs

General Mills will soon be forced to raise the prices on some of its cereals and baking ingredients after a drought in Russia drove up the commodity costs of wheat and a corn shortage resulted in higher grain prices.

The company has assured customers that the price increase will be in the "low-single-digits," but it will take effect within the next couple of weeks - likely by November 15. Products affected will be some cereals and some baking necessities, such as flour and baking mixes. The company has declined to name specific brands that will be subject to the increase, although for some products, it will be the first price increase in more than three years.

Kraft Foods has also announced that some of its products will soon be getting a bit more expensive. The company said that it would be selectively increasing prices on some items - though it did not name specific ones - in order to offset rising commodity costs.

Consumers could soon be seeing an increase across the board on many of the items they purchase every day, due to increased commodity costs on everything from corn to meat to cotton. Even Starbucks has announced that it will be raising prices on some of its more "labor intensive" drinks due an increase in the cost of green coffee beans.