Report sees Canadian meat prices rising at faster pace

CNS Canada — Canadians will be paying more for meat than earlier thought in 2017, according to a new report from Dalhousie University.

Expected price declines for other foods, however, will limit the impact on the total grocery bill in the country.

In the mid-year update for Canada’s Food Price Report, researchers at Dalhousie in Halifax forecast meat prices will increase by up to nine per cent on the year, which compares to the December 2016 forecast of a four to six per cent increase for meat.

Overall, food inflation is forecast at three to four per cent by the study, which would mark a slight decline from the three to five per cent increase expected in the earlier report.

The fish, dairy, bakery products and vegetable sectors were all revised lower from the annual report. However, on an individual crop basis, lettuce was singled out as a product seeing price spikes.

The rise in lettuce was reportedly tied to a combination of high demand and weather concerns with California’s crop.

The Dalhousie report compares with the official Statistics Canada Consumer Price Index, which indicates a much more modest rate of food inflation.