Dalhousie Professor Says Oil Price War Impacting Farmers

The recent drop in oil prices will impact the entire agri-food market.

 

That from Dalhousie University Professor Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.

 

"As soon as oil actually suffers, it does have an impact on everything else at farmgate," he said. "You can see right now, grains, livestock, they're all struggling. Many farmers were expecting a good year but everything is in limbo."

 

He talked about what impact the COVID-19 pandemic and oil price war could have on food prices.

 

"Conditions are favourable to a decrease in food inflation, but the Canadian dollar remains the wildcard and right now the Canadian dollar is just being pounded by markets as a result of what's happening with oil prices. In a few days, or perhaps in a week from now, food importers may have to pay way more for produce and grocery items that are processed outside our borders. Eventually, food distributors, grocers, would have to pass on extra costs to consumers."

 

Charlebois says the next few weeks and how we handle this situation will be critical.

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This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement number 2023-38640-39573 through the North Central Region SARE program under project number ENC23-226. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.