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Food prices, especially for things like meat and produce, continue to fall thanks to a drop in inflation.
“If we compare November 2015 to 2016, I’ve definitely seen prices drop at my store for meat and produce,” said Andrey Kharitonov, a Your Independent Grocer Owner in Saskatoon.
“I think the key reason compared to inflation is the competitiveness in the Saskatoon market.”
The average retail price for one kilogram of pork chops, for example, is down from $13.16 in September of last year to $12.55 this past September.
One kilogram of ground beef dropped from $12.96 to $12.40 during the same time period. Food inflation reached nearly four per cent last year.
“I feel the new retailers come into town and lower their price to get a customer base,” Kharitonov said.
“We have to respond by doing the same which keeps the prices low for consumers in the city.”
During the high inflationary period, Loblaw noticed shoppers were switching to cheaper items, and the company has been responding, said the president of Loblaw Galen Weston.
“We’re reducing prices to see if we can draw the customer back in,” he said.
– with files from The Canadian Press.
