The Price of Rice in China

I used to do a lot of baking and cooking. This has decreased over the past few years, partially because we don’t have three children going to school and needing food every day for lunches, snacks and meals.

However, we end up having weekend company frequently with the grown-up children now. I bake a lot of breads, buns, pastries, cookies, etc. and of course the main meals. I am using everyday regular ingredients in my kitchen with nothing too fancy as a rule.

We have no caviar, lobster or other high-end meals / ingredients.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) with Statistics Canada says inflation has gone up 2.9% from a year ago. But the CPI is only looking at a price increase from the previous year. So really it doesn’t tell us much in my books. All I know is what I am spending more on groceries and products compared to pre-covid. And I am betting my average items that I regularly purchase have gone up 40-50% or more.

Here is one example. I have made homemade bread and buns for over 40 years. When I first started buying flour, I paid around $3 to $4 for a 10 kg bag. Over the years it increased by small amounts and before covid I was paying $5-$7 a bag. I have consistently purchased no-name flour from Superstore. This is one item that they haven’t changed the size of the bag (which is another issue that has occurred). During covid I was paying $8-$9 for a bag of flour and $5 for yeast. In the last year I can seldom find a bag of flour for less than $12 and yeast has gone up to $9-$10. And if you are buying Robin Hood flour you are paying around $20 a bag. Somebody is making a lot of money off the backs of the consumer. And you can be guaranteed that it is not our farmers seeing all these profits on their bottom line.

I think we all know who is gouging us – the corporations I say. Doing some research the CPI says since covid groceries have gone up around 23% depending on what items you are purchasing, season, sales, etc. And the CPI may say 23%, I my shopping it is much higher than 23% on most items. I like to keep some fresh fruit / vegetables in our home. I used to buy a bag of colored peppers for around $4 now they are $7-$8 a bag. Romaine lettuce used to be $3 now it’s more like $7-$8. I would buy plums for $2 – they are usually $3.50 and higher – I seldom purchase them very often now. Oranges would be $5 for a bag – now they are $8-$9.

Sugar has doubled or tripled. And then they like to put a shortage on sugar so consumers can hoard it and pay even more for it. (Similar to the toilet paper shortage, which there really never was.) And in case you didn’t know it but not much baking happens without sugar. Meat – beef especially has increased. A prime rib beef steak or roast is on sale this week for $16 a pounds. An average family of 5 would probably need at least a 5-pound roast – hoping to have some leftovers. There goes $75 and that is only the meat. Let’s add potatoes and a veggie, bread maybe a salad and a dessert. Yikes. One meal for 5 people just cost well over $100.

And we all know eating a meal like this in a restaurant is more than double this and don’t forget the TIP! And don’t get me started on tipping – that’s a whole other blog.

The cost of having a beverage in a restaurant has tripled for coffee / pop if not quadrupled. A glass of pop or coffee $3.50 compared to the good old $.99 with free refills. And along with the increase of prices is the downsizing of the package – now referred to as shrinkflation. What used to be a 1 kg package is now 820 grams or comparable.

These large manufacturers think we won’t notice that the price is similar, but the size has decreased. And we as the consumer have no choice but to purchase the item if we really want it. We can go with a no-name product vs a brand name in hopes of saving some money. As I opened my computer this morning, I found I was being flogged with others complaining about the same thing and what to do.

A CEO for Hostess brands stated “consumers get used to it. When all prices go up, it helps!” Gee thanks. That is pretty much what I had already figured out. The corporations don’t care about the consumer – they only want to make more money, greedy, greedy, greedy.

For myself, I know my prices reasonably well and what is a good price or total ridiculous – and it can stay on the shelf for that price. I don’t run around going from store to store for the best price. On a larger ticket item, I will look for a sale price though. I have an app on my phone called FLIPP it tells me the price of basically any item I am looking for and at what store. It will show you the flyers for all the stores you frequent as well. I recommend putting it on your smart phone if you want to find sales prices easily in one place.

As an example: if I want to have baby back pork ribs for a meal, I will type in: pork back ribs – and it will tell me the price of them at different stores. And if they are on sale for $3.99 a pound or less, we are eating ribs for a meal. I refuse to pay more than that – we will have hamburger instead. And if you don’t have a casserole cookbook on 101 ways to use hamburger – you should find one. One of these most versatile meats you can cook with.

And you can make a pound of hamburger stretch by adding veggies to it with some type of sauce. Serve it over pasta, rice or potatoes. And there you have a reasonably priced meal. When I was a stay home parent and 3 kids – we ate a lot of hamburger casseroles. Easy to make and easy on the budget. We have been purchasing our beef from a local farmer for several years now. You do need deep freeze space, but the price is much better than the store and no comparison in the quality. It is tastier, fresher and a lot less money.

Beef is a meat that keeps for a long time in the deep freeze without getting old tasting / freezer burnt. Pork does not store nearly as well. We keep pork for about 3-4 months as a rule in the freezer. After that the cats and dogs are getting a prime pork meal instead. And the list goes on of increased pricing and gouging: dog and cat food, treats for the pets, chocolate chips for baking – twice as much as they were.

The list goes on and on from streaming videos, cable, vehicles, gas, etc. And yes, you can do a run to Costco and save money on several items. But you still need to know your pricing to shop there as well. And do you need it? It’s easy to overspend at this store as anyone who shops there knows.

So as far as axing the tax – we need a lot more help in this country than just axing the tax. We need reasonable housing, a fairer system for the consumer and especially the middle wage earner. We pay a lot of taxes and need more than a carbon tax rebate 4 times a year. Reading various articles on inflation today – I never did find a good answer what to do about it.

Word of advice – grow a garden if you can. Share groceries with a friend. Six romaine lettuces are cheaper than three. It’s hard to justify over buying to save some money if we end up throwing it out. Watch for sales. Take advantage of coupons and only purchase what you need and can use. Cut services that really arent’ a necessity.

Do I listen to all this advice? Sometimes.

Have a great July – summer is finally here.

Enjoy these upcoming warm days of summer. We can finally quit running the winter furnace – yeah! For those of you who are fortunate enough to have air conditioning – you will be using it over the next couple of weeks. In closing, I want to leave you with some upbeat, fun summertime music. Something that gets your toes tapping, body shaking, rattling and rolling! I am recommending bringing out the greatest hits of the Beach Boys.

Those guys just bring the sounds of summer on. Some of us would have purchased their music on vinyl, cassettes, 8-tracks, CD’s and now streaming services. The Beach Boys are an American rock band from California and became popular in 1961. They were a 5-man band, with 3 being brothers (Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson).

The band was originally managed by their father too. Surfin’ USA was their first national hit and their fame and hit songs continued throughout the 60’s. Put on their greatest hits or Pet Sounds – an album considered to be among the greatest and influential works in popular music history. One song is just not enough – you need a LP!

Merle Lee Ann Pratt Website: www.merleleeannskitchen.com (find all of my blogs updated regularly there) Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: @merleleeannskitchen Contact Email: merleleeann@gmail.com

This column is sponsored by MacKenzie Funeral Chapel and Crematorium – We will be there when you need us – Bev and Brian Stobbs

130 9th St. E, Prince Albert, SK

Phone: (306) 763-8488 – https://mackenziechapel.ca

by Merle Lee Ann Pratt – Merle Lee Ann’s Kitchen, author of “A Baker’s Dozen”

The Price of Rice in China

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