Canada’s food prices are
rising faster than anywhere else in the world, according to a University of
Guelph research team led by Sylvain Charlebois.
The Food Institute team
says Canadian prices will rise by two to four per cent next year, which will be
much higher than the general rate of inflation.
Food prices rose by 4.1 per
cent this year, pushed by meat and higher costs for imports from the United
States, thanks to the plunging value of the Canadian dollar.
The loonie has fallen 14
per cent to about 73 cents US, pushing up prices for the 81 per cent of
vegetables, fruit and nuts imported from outside of Canada.
Here's what the Food
Institute study says to expect in 2016:
Food price inflation %
|
Category
|
2016 price increase
|
|
Meats
|
2.5-4.5%
|
|
Fish and seafood
|
1-3%
|
|
Dairy and eggs
|
0-2%
|
|
Grains
|
0.2%
|
|
Fruits and nuts
|
2.5-4.5%
|
|
Vegetables
|
2-4%
|
|
Overall food costs
|
2-4%
|
Charlebois says the average
Canadian household will spend $8,631 on food in 2016, an increase of about
$345. That figure includes $2,416 spent at restaurants.
"Canada is the only
industrialized country where you find the food inflation rate to be above 2.5
per cent. That's significant. Right now we are sitting at 4.1 per cent,"
Charlebois told CBC News.
"Europe food
inflation's barely at one per cent. There's too much food in the market. The
U.S. inflation rate is much lower than ours. The currency clearly is not
helping families that are in need of affordable foods."
Charlebois said the high
prices are hardest on low-income Canadians and people in remote communities, who
often have difficulty affording fresh food.
"We need to figure out
a way to offer affordable foods to northern communities," he said.
Another factor that could
affect food prices is climate change, according to the Food Institute study.
The drought in California
has pushed up fruit and vegetable prices in 2015, but in 2016 a big El Nino
should mean a lot of rain that will restore crops in the U.S. southwest and
could help keep prices down. El Nino is a Pacific current that affects weather
patterns.
Charlebois said what
Canadians choose is changing.
As meat prices, especially
beef, rose to record highs, people switched to other proteins, such as lentils
and beans.
They are "looking for
local products …,and they're concerned about the ethical treatment of animals,
the ingredients, the naturalization of food."
"Throw in a lot
of different things that may drive prices — like McDonald's this year to go
cage-free cured chicken without antibiotics — all these things will only drive
prices higher," he said.
