Report says Canadian food prices to rise 2 to 4 per cent in 2020

Canada’s Food Price Report is forecasting prices in Canada will increase by between two and four per cent in 2020.

The 10th annual edition of the report, which was released Wednesday, said the annual cost of food for the average Canadian family in 2020 will be $12,667 — up $487 from 2019.

The report is prepared by researchers from Dalhousie University and the University of Guelph.

It says climate change is the major culprit for rising food prices, especially in the produce department.

Unexpected snowstorms, droughts and other weather events have impacted crops and food prices in the past, said Simon Somogyi, lead researcher from the University of Guelph. But for 2020, he and others behind the report highlight climate change as the cause.

“We’re deliberately pointing out that, you know, climate change is causing the droughts (and) is causing the bad snowstorms that’s impacting prices,” Somogyi told The Canadian Press.

The report calls the impact of changing weather patterns on our food systems through droughts, forest fires, heavy precipitation, reduced freshwater access and rising sea levels “the elephant in the room” for 2020.

“Canadian farmers will face challenges in the future dealing with unpredictable crop yields, heat-wave livestock threats, pasture availability, and pest and disease outbreaks,” the report read.

According to the report, the food group that will see the biggest price increase is meats, which are forecast to rise by between four and six per cent.

Seafood and vegetables are expected to increase by between two and four per cent, followed by fruits (1.5 to 3.5 per cent), dairy (one to three per cent) and bakery items (zero to two per cent).

The price of meals at restaurants also is expected to rise between two and four per cent.

“Canadians deserve to know more about price changes in the food they consume and how those changes will impact them,” Dalhousie researcher Eamonn McGuinty said in a media release.

“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.”

The report says food prices in B.C., Manitoba, Quebec and Prince Edward Island are expected to increase at a rate higher than the national average, while price increases in Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are predicted to be below the national average. Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador are expected to see average increases.

The report can be seen here.

— With files from The Canadian Press