The 10th annual edition of Canada’s Food Price Report forecasts a 2 to 4% increase in food prices in 2020, bringing the predicted annual cost of food for the average Canadian family to $12,667, an increase of $487 over 2019.
Canada’s Food Price Report 2020 is released jointly by Dalhousie University and the University of Guelph.
Last year’s forecast for annual food spending by the average Canadian family is expected to come within $23.
“We were surprised by how accurate our forecast was, despite vegetable prices going up by 12% rather than the predicted 4 to 6%. Forecasting is not easy, and we have learned from our successes and failures over the last 10 years,” says Lead Author and Dalhousie Project Lead Sylvain Charlebois, Professor in the Faculties of Management and Agriculture. “Food inflation is desirable, but when prices increase quickly families can be left behind.”
The report’s authors forecast the following price changes for 2020, with meat in particular forecast to go up in price by 4 to 6% despite Canadians’ increasing interest in plant-based protein options.
“Canadians deserve to know more about price changes in the food they consume and how those changes will impact them,” adds Dalhousie researcher Eamonn McGuinty. “This year, the Report reiterates the key headlines impacting food prices for Canadians: climate change, geopolitical conflicts, single-use plastic packaging, the effect of increasingly protectionist trade environments on Canada’s exports, disease outbreaks, and the ongoing technological disruption of the supply chain giving rise to more customizable and tailored food options."
Food price increases in 2020 in British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec, and Prince Edward Island are expected to exceed the national average, while price increases in Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia are expected to be lower than the national average.
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