Overall food prices to increase next year
HALIFAX — Significant price increases at the meat, bakery and produce departments of the grocery store will drive an overall food price increase of three to five per cent next year.
That’s the conclusion of the 11th annual edition of Canada’s Food Price Report, released Tuesday, which forecasts the cost of meat going up 4.5 to 6.5 per cent, bakery 3.5 to 5.5 per cent and vegetables 4.5 to 6.5 per cent.
“Families with less means will be significantly challenged in 2021, and many will be left behind,” says Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, and an author of the report. “Immunity to higher food prices requires more cooking, more discipline and more research. It’s as simple as that.”
The food price report points out that the COVID-19 pandemic led to border and facility closures, shifting consumer demand and unemployment, plus modifications in production, manufacturing, distribution and retailing practices to enhance safety. All those things had an impact on food prices.
Dr. Simon Somogyi of the University of Guelph, who also contributed to the report, said he was most surprised by the increase in the price of vegetables. He has some advice for consumers.
“Health Canada wants us to eat more vegetables and that’s going to be harder. Hopefully when the Canadian growing season comes online in summer 2021, prices will soften and more families will have access,” Somogyi said. “When folks go to the grocery store, they should have a look in the frozen food aisle, particularly for peas, broccoli, carrots and corn. Frozen vegetables are snap frozen just after harvest, so their nutrients are locked in. They can be just as nutritious as fresh vegetables, but at a lower price.”
Last year’s food price report predicted the average Canadian family would spend up to $12,667 on food in 2020. Based on the 2020 inflation rate to date, the figure is likely to be closer to $12,508, largely because consumers ate at restaurants less frequently.
The report says food price factors to watch for in 2021 include the continued impact of COVID-19, the effects of climate change, growth in ecommerce and online services, more losses in the food manufacturing sector, the ban on some single-use plastics and the impact of the U.S. presidential election on food policy and the Canadian dollar.
The complete Canada’s Food Price Report 2021 is here: https://www.dal.ca/ sites/agri-food.html.