The average price of milk increased 3.6 per cent since March, 2020, in 18 of 20 markets surveyed by Field Agent Canada.
The lowest retail milk prices are in Costco’s Ontario stores at $4.65 for four litres. That’s also Costco’s price in Manitoba and British Columbia. The most expensive was $7.13 in Moncton, New Brunswick.
Price changes ranged from 10.6 per cent increase in Halifax to 0.6 per cent in Laval, Quebec. Prices dropped in Victoria, B.C., by The most expensive milk was $7.13 in Moncton, New Brunswick.
Field Agent general manager Gerry Doucette said differences in regional prices are generally caused by the supply management system which controls milk production through provincial quotas.
“In Quebec there are higher prices in general versus Ontario — that’s more of a supply management piece,” he told Canadian Grocer magazine.
“In Atlantic Canada it’s really about inefficiencies. Because milk doesn’t flow freely across borders in Canada you don’t have efficiencies of shipping milk from Ontario to the Maritimes and doing it at a much lower price.”
Doucette said the price reflects the cost of milk delivered to the store.
