According to the Financial Post, three CEO’s from Canada’s major grocery chains are making strong claims that food prices will soon rise at most Canadian grocery stores.
The increasing costs come from pressures on the grocery industry which includes raising the minimum wage, increased fuel transportation and the ongoing trade war with the United States. And according to CEO’s from Metro Inc. Loblaw Companies LTD. and Empire Co. These factors are expected to cause price inflation.
The price increase isn’t expected to last forever as the CEO of Metro predicts after the initial increase, prices will return to normal inflation levels.
The aforementioned combination of increased wages, higher fuel costs and the Canadian government’s retaliatory tariffs on American products has caused a “tsunami of tariff-related requests for cost increase from grocery suppliers.
Each CEO said they do no like to pass on these costs to the consumer but Galen Weston Loblaw CEO is quoted as saying “We don’t like to pass on the cost, but there’s no way you can avoid it with the inflationary pressures that we are now seeing.
What does this all mean?
Well in the short run you can expect your trip to the grocery store to be a little more expensive and you should see some relief in mid-2019 as the grocery retailers adjust to the latest economic pressures.
Source: Financial Post