(Photo 54391638 © Lightpoet | Dreamstime.com)

By Derek Craddock

FOOD PRICES

Sask. families could pay four-and-a-half per cent more in groceries in 2024: report

Dec 8, 2023 | 12:28 PM

The annual Food Price Report shows once again that Canadians will be paying more at the grocery store next year, but will the impact be greater or lesser in Saskatchewan?

The University of Saskatchewan was one of four schools to contribute to the report released on Thursday along with Dalhousie University, the University of British Columbia and the University of Guelph.

The report predicted that food prices will rise between two and a half per cent and four and a half per cent next year as inflation moderates. This could mean the average family pays roughly $700 more for food in 2024.

Stuart Smyth, a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Saskatchewan said researchers at the school contributed to the report by looking at what commodity production including crops, vegetables, beef, and poultry looks like in Canada and internationally.

“What have prices been doing over the last six to 12 months and then sort of telling that story as to help better inform readers about the relationship between commodity production and the price of food products,” he said.

International Spotlight

P.A.'s Howe one of 4 Sask. born players named to Canada's World Junior roster

14h ago

National

Ottawa to remove 30% investment cap for Canadian pension funds

18h ago

Budget woes

Golf and curling centre faces grim season without financial boost

21h ago

Some categories are predicted to experience faster price rises than others in 2024.

The report said that bakery, meat, and vegetables are forecast to see prices go up the most, at between five and seven per cent. Prices at restaurants and for seafood products will rise between three and five per cent, while dairy and fruit prices will rise between one and three per cent.

Smyth pointed out that the increase predicted in the report is a national average and while some provinces like Quebec and the Maritimes could be below that average marker, the Prairies might not be.

“Unfortunately, most of the Prairies, Saskatchewan included, were indicated to be slightly above average,” he said. “That means we might expect to see food prices here sort of at that four and a half per cent as maybe compared to being closer to the two and a half per cent.”

The report noted a number of factors contributing to the price increases aside from rising inflation.

Climate change is expected to continue influencing the prices of some food items especially as climate-related events become more frequent and hit harder.

Beef prices are on the rise as drought in the Midwest and Prairies has led farmers to cull their herds, said Charlebois.

Meanwhile, the price of cocoa is being driven up by conditions in Ghana and the Ivory Coast, while the price of sugar is rising due to weather affecting sugarcane production in some countries.

Smyth added the geopolitical instability including the wars in Ukraine, Israel, and Gaza have also contributed.

There is a shred of positivity as Smyth noted that in 2023, families spent less in dollar amounts than last year’s report predicted, as they cut back on spending at restaurants and grocery stores.

The estimated total annual spending tally in 2023 for a family of four —two parents, a teenage boy and a pre-teen girl — was $15,595.40, almost $700 less than last year’s report predicted.

“Depending on how household spending goes, this may be a bit of an indication that we’re going to see a bit of levelling off in terms of food price increases over the coming year,” he said.

-With files from The Canadian Press

—

derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com