Of course, there are many complaints about rising food prices in the United States.
But somehow the complaints from north of the border sound more anguished.
Understandably. In 2022, Canadian food prices rose by 10.3 percent over the previous year. Fruit prices rose 11.4 percent; vegetable prices, by 12.7 percent.
The rises are expected to continue. Canadians are expected to spend an extra C$1,066 on food this year (for a family of four), according to the 2023 Canada Food Price Report. Report predicts Canadians will spend $1,000 more on food in 2023 – Produce Blue Book
(Although the report does not specifically say so, at least so far as I can see, I have to assume that prices are in Canadian dollars. At this point, C$1,066 = $783 U.S.)
Shelflation was one source of the problem.
“‘Shelflation,’” says the report, “is a new term in the grocery industry that describes when supply chain issues lead to overripe, or less fresh food products making their way onto store shelves. Factors that contribute to supply chain issues could include labour shortages, weather, border-related challenges, or any event that could realistically extend storage and/or transportation times.”
The report indicates a smaller rise for 2023: 5-7 percent total; 3-5 percent for fruits; vegetables, 6-8 percent.
But that was what they said in 2021 about 2022. The forecast was, again, 5-7 percent, but the total increase was 10.3 percent.
In an op-ed piece for the Toronto Star, Charles Stevens, an Ontario apple and blueberry grower and chair of the Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Growers’ Association, explained the situation from the grower’s perspective. Fruit and vegetable growers are not driving prices increases at the market | The Star
“Even though food prices have shot up for consumers,” Stevens writes, “the prices growers receive along the supply chain have not even come close to keeping in line with their escalating input costs. It is not uncommon for growers this year to be receiving essentially the same price as last year for their produce—and in some cases, prices that are even lower.”
“Fruit and vegetable growers compete in a global marketplace, which makes it easy for buyers to source produce from anywhere in the world, including from countries with longer growing seasons or lower production costs.
“This means we have always been price takers with little to no ability to recoup cost increases from the marketplace and every price increase to our businesses makes it that much harder for growers to stay profitable or competitive,” he continues.
“The irony of this is that while retailers use their access to lower-priced imports to keep the prices paid to local farmers down, consumers have still seen a big jump in their grocery bill at the checkout.”
Stevens ends with a plea to avoid overreliance on imports.
Stevens’ points are likely to come as news to practically nobody in the produce industry, but they are probably still not well understood by consumers, here or up north.
His brief article does not address this question: Are retailers taking advantage of inflation talk to jack up their profit margins, or are they being hit with the same cost rises that are vexing growers?
I suspect the latter.
In any event, my conclusion for my own brief article: markets are merciless.
