Figures out Tuesday show that food prices were up 10.4 percent year over as of last month, while overall inflation was down notably at 6.9 percent. Why is food chronically going up?
A lot of folks have a lot of theories. But nobody’s agreeing with anybody else. There is general agreement that prices are still marching upwards, though – something nobody can deny. Just look at average supermarket retail prices…
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t
Canada’s food price guru, Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, says consumers might find their personal inflation rate is even higher if they are taking the government’s advice on healthy eating seriously. The most recent edition of Canada’s Food Guide recommends that half your dinner plate should be filled with fresh fruits and veggies and another quarter of the plate with whole grain products.
Alas, those food categories are among the hardest-hit by year-over-year price hikes last month:
- Meat – up 7.3 per cent
- Bakery products – up 15.5 per cent
- Dairy – up 12.4 per cent) and
- Fresh vegetables – up 14.7 per cent.
Some good news, if you look hard enough…
There was some good news:
- Lettuce – down 5.8 percent
- Oranges – down 1.8 percent
- Pasta – down 0.5 percent
- Breakfast cereals – down 2.9 percent, and
- Fish – (whether fresh or frozen) down slightly
But why are food prices still so high?
Major supermarket chains claim they aren’t gouging
Future considerations
Royal Bank of Canada Economist Nathan Janzen told The Canadian Press: food inflation should start to slow, with The Royal’s latest forecast shows it dipping below three percent by the end of 2023. “We are expecting growth in [food] prices to plateau and … and we are starting to see some signs of that.”
Charlebois says Canadians looking for relief from food price hikes any time soon are probably out of luck.
Janzen notes: “It’s easier for prices to go up than down,” he says. “We’re not expecting prices to decline, just to grow at a slower rate.”
~ Maggie J.