According to Canada’s Food Price Report, food prices will rise up by up to 7% in 2023 , a direct result of food inflation, a rise in the price of food commodities. As food is an essential purchase for all Canadians, this becomes a dire issue.
Therefore, it is important to understand the contributing factors of rising grocery prices in order to make this necessity accessible to all.
- Climate Change: As a result of climate change, many wildfires have spread across Canada and are destroying farmland that is crucial to growing crops. Not only is the crop yield affected, but methods of transportation for food are being affected by the presence of wildfires.
- COVID-19: While COVID-19 is no longer a global emergency, we are still recovering from its effects on the supply chain, specifically the process of distributing food around the globe.
- Labor Shortages: Canada is also facing a heavy decline of people working in the agricultural industry, leading to a lack of physical workers. This causes more demand of agriculture and a lack of supply. Ultimately, this puts pressure on prices.
However, it is important not to lose hope. Fortunately, the federal government is taking measures to stabilize this issue soon.
Some measures being taken include:
- Grocery stores providing aggressive discounts
- An investigation on pricing that hurts consumers
- An availability of pricing data, in order to inform the public on changes being made
- A Grocery Code of Conduct, perhaps the most effective on the list. This code of conduct enforces transparency, pushing food suppliers to improve their pricing strategies
Interested in learning more? Stay tuned for more articles and information on this crisis coming soon.
Sources:
https://globalnews.ca/news/10006700/grocery-food-prices-canada-five-measures/https://globalnews.ca/news/10006700/grocery-food-prices-canada-five-measures/https://financialpost.com/executive/executive-summary/canada-food-price-report-2023-inflation
Read more: Rising Food Prices- Where does it end?