First it was the price of gas to go up, and soon it could be your grocery bill.
Economists predict food prices will jump by as much as seven per cent by the end of the year. Rising oil prices and transportation costs are among the reasons why.
Food distributors in Prince Albert are feeling the pinch.
“Pretty well for the last three or four months, we have been slowly moving up. The reasons are freight….there is a world shortage on coffee….coffee has pretty well moved up from January to March,” said Paul Braaten, the manager of Northern Grocers.
Braaten said anything with chocolate will be going up too.
Chris Szeszorak, store manager of Harold's Family Foods, said canola oil is in a for a big price jump.
“We are expecting an increase of five to 10 percent, if not 15 per cent on that.”
Szeszorak said he has heard some grumbling from families but most have figured out how to shop smarter.
“A lot of our house brand items will move the quickest because they are priced inexpensive compared to the national brands.”
John Scott, of the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, said he expects retailers to get more creative.
“One of the things that we may see as a result of the increase in commodity prices, is instead of passing on the full price to the consumer, is that you will see a reduction in the number of promotions, like the coupons and that kind of thing that people have gotten to see in the last year.”
