Economists say there are a number of factors driving up food prices, but they expect food inflation to slow over time. Here's a look at what’s behind Canada’s high grocery prices and what to expect in the coming months.

TLDR; climate change, Russia, supply chain not recovered, labor shortages; more price increases expected :/

  • grte
    121·
    1 year ago

    They actually do address it. By handwaving it away with practically no analysis. This article might as well be paid for by the grocery industry.

    BIG GROCERS DICTATING FOOD PRICES Many Canadians have pointed the finger at big corporations for how expensive groceries have become over the past few years, but Huggins said the issue of high food prices is a bit more complex.

    In Canada, five retailers — Loblaw, Sobeys, Metro, Walmart and Costco — control an estimated 80 per cent of the grocery market share, according to a 2021 study from the federal government.

    As Huggins pointed out, these companies make up an oligopoly, which is a market dominated by a small group of suppliers, so they are able to exercise their power in the market and have “very protected profit margins.”

    However, he said there hasn’t been much evidence of them abusing their power in the market to drive up food prices in the last two years.

    “In the early days of the pandemic, there was some jockeying for price increases, mostly because there were big supply disruptions happening, but we haven’t seen an enormous amount of it,” he added.

    “They’ve certainly been able to prevent their profits from coming down, but I haven’t seen a lot of exploitative size numbers.”