Retail food prices rose 8.6 percent in 1980, the smallest annual increase since 1977, and significantly less than the 14.6 percent rise in nonfood prices. This helped moderate overall inflation. The farm value of foods in 1980 averaged 5.4 percent above 1979 levels and accounted for about one-fifth of the food price increase. About half of this increase was due to the 8.4 percent rise in the farm-to-retail price spread last year, with the remainder due to prices for fish and imported foods, which averaged 11. 7 percent higher.