It’s no secret that prices at the grocery store keep rising, and according to some, people can expect to spend even more in 2023 to feed their families.
According to Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, he expects food prices to increase by five to seven percent in the first half of 2023.
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“For an average family of four, we are expecting the food bill to increase by about $1,000, which is the largest increase we have predicted in 13 years,” Charlebois said.
“We are expecting huge growth during the first half of 2022. Things may calm down a bit in the second half.”
Charlebois expects inflation to be felt most in three specific categories: vegetables, bakery and dairy. And while the hike may be tough, he says it could be worse.
“Canada’s food inflation rate is actually one of the lowest in the world right now at 10.3 per cent,” Charlebois explained. “Only Japan has low food inflation and interest rates haven’t really gone up in Japan.
“So we’re doing fine in the grand scheme of things, which really means we’re dealing with a global phenomenon.”
This phenomenon has been felt in Saskatchewan for months now.
A new Statscan report includes numbers for how much the average various grocery items cost each month in Saskatchewan during 2022.
For example, the cost of beef striploin cuts in July 2022 was $22.41 per kilogram. In November, this number increased to $26.93 per kg.
Many different grocery items including strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce may see a price hike
It is important to note that not all products have seen growth. The prices of some items like Cabbage, Onion and Ajwain remained the same or even declined slightly.
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A full list of prices included in the study can be found on the website Government of Canada website,
For Kathleen Cassidy, founder of Living on a Looney, an online platform to help people find good deals, she feels the rise in prices doesn’t mean people still can’t save a lot of money at the grocery store Huh.
“I think those who want to be Canadians are going to continue to be smart about their money and look for the savings opportunities that are out there,” Cassidy said. “There are still many ways to save money in Canada. You just need to be a smart shopper and put some time and effort into educating yourself and following up.
She recommends watching flyers, finding online coupons, and checking where you shop each week to see where the best deals might be and what’s a fair price.
“What’s on sale this week and then how can I feed my family from those sales flyers so you can customize each week based on the sales to create your meal plan,” she said.
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