Why Canada’s food inflation may get worse before it gets better
Canada’s inflation rate reached 4.7 per cent in October, the fastest rate increase in almost 19 years. Food inflation for the month stood at 3.8 per cent, but as the growing season ends in Canada and the U.S. for many kinds of fresh produce, Canadians may be in for more sticker shock at the grocery store.Food inflation is notoriously volatile. For example, prices can swing up or down considerably depending on the weather.
But the supply chain snarls engulfing global trade are complicating the task of keeping Canada supplied with out-of-season fruits and veggies. These days, though, a container of berries easily takes 20 to 25 days to get to destination, Davidson says.Causing delay is anything from a shortage of containers to backed-up ports, a dearth of workers to load and offload ships, and longer-than-usual wait times for trucks to pick up the produce, according to Davidson.Inflation rate rises to 4.7% in October, highest level since 2003
High energy prices are also putting upward pressure on food costs, he says. That’s especially true for produce imported from the U.S. and other parts of the world, which has to travel long distances, he notes.Supply chains under scrutiny due to climate impacts – Nov 8, 2021“Climate change is a supply chain issue. The interruption of of production can have long term impacts on both the supply and the price of products,” von Massow says.