Prices for soup ingredients are heating up.

If you thought this winter weather was rough wait until you see what’s going to happen to the price of the hot soup you eat at home. While the government’s report on wholesale prices this morning was tame – producers charged their customers 1.7 percent more than last year – a peek at producer prices for supermarket staples tells a different story.

Farmers are charging 248 percent more – yes, prices are practically tripling – for celery thanks to low supply. And they’re charging – get ready – 253 percent more for onions because of strong demand to Asia. (Our treasury securities weren’t enough, now they want our onions?)

To be clear, these are prices at the farming level. But usually, when grocerers pay more they in turn charge more. It’s called price pass through but it’s not a guarantee. On rare occassions they take the occasional hit just to get you in the store.