Home » Posts tagged 'food prices' (Page 4)

Tag Archives: food prices

Olduvai
Click on image to purchase

Olduvai III: Catacylsm
Click on image to purchase

Post categories

Post Archives by Category

Fruit and vegetable prices hike overall food costs

February 21, 2016

Fruit and vegetable prices hike overall food costs

Food prices increased by four per cent over the year, largely because of the low loonie

According to the Consumer Price Index, food prices increased by four per cent from Jan. 2015 to Jan. 2016. But fresh vegetables alone were up 18 per cent. For example, just in December, the price of tomatoes shot up by 30 per cent.

According to the Consumer Price Index, food prices increased by four per cent from Jan. 2015 to Jan. 2016. But fresh vegetables alone were up 18 per cent. For example, just in December, the price of tomatoes shot up by 30 per cent. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)

Fruit and veggie lovers have seen their pocketbooks pinched over this past year as the precious produce spiked in price, prompting an overall increase in food costs.

“Well, obviously the weak loonie has had an impact on produce and fruit prices,” said Sylvain Charlebois, professor of marketing and consumer studies at the University of Guelph Food Institute. “They’ve gone up significanty.”

According to the Consumer Price Index, released by Statistics Canada on Friday, food prices increased by four per cent in January 2016, compared to the same month a year earlier. But fresh vegetables were up 18 per cent over that period, while the price of tomatoes alone shot up 30 per cent from the previous month.

Lettuce was up nearly 18 per cent in January, compared to a year earlier, while other fresh vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower, celery and peppers, registered their largest year-over-year increase since April 2009, rising 23 per cent over the previous year.

Fresh fruit was up nearly 13 per cent for the year, with apples rising 16.6 per cent and oranges 11.

‘Driven by the weakened currency’

“Clearly many importers had to procure some produce outside of North America and that really increases transportation costs,” Charlebois said. “Peppers — we’ve had to go to Europe to get some of those products — so that’s why some products have increased by more than 30 per cent in a month.”

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Canada Rebels against the Destruction of the Loonie

January 19, 2016

Canada Rebels against the Destruction of the Loonie

The fear of “currency instability.”

“Without precedent” — that’s what National Bank of Canada’s chief economist Stéfane Marion called the wholesale destruction of the loonie.

The Canadian dollar is in a tailspin. Rarely has it tumbled so far so fast, and against so many currencies. The steepness of the CAD’s depreciation against the USD is without precedent, -33%, or 3.5 standard deviations, in 24 months.

In the two weeks so far this year, the loonie has dropped 5.8% against the euro, 5.3% against the greenback, and 8.6% against the yen. “Even the likes of Norway (+5.4% against the CAD) and Sweden (+3.9%) are mocking the once-mighty Canadian dollar,” Marion wrote in the note. “Australia and New Zealand? Not to worry, they are also gaining ground against the CAD.”

The Canadian dollar plunged to a fresh 13-year low last week and hasn’t recovered since, hovering at US$0.688, below $0.70 for the first time since spring 2003.

People are getting alarmed. A lot of consumer goods are imported, including 81% of fruits and vegetables. The plunging loonie makes them more expensive for Canadians: meat prices rose 5% last year, fruits 9%, vegetables 10%. The average household ended up spending C$325 more for food in 2015 than in 2014, according to the Food Price Report. And it’s likely to get worse.

When Stephen Poloz became governor of the Bank of Canada in 2013, he set out to hammer down the Canadian dollar. In 2015, he redoubled his efforts. He relied on ceaseless jawboning. He even invoked the absurdity of negative interest rates. And he cut the overnight rate twice, the infamous surprise cut in January and the telegraphed cut in July, at a time when the Fed was flip-flopping about raising rates.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Canadians Panic As Food Prices Soar On Collapsing Currency

January 13, 2016

Canadians Panic As Food Prices Soar On Collapsing Currency

It was just yesterday when we documented the continuing slide in the loonie, which is suffering mightily in the face of oil’s inexorable decline.

As regular readers are no doubt acutely aware, Canada is struggling through a dramatic economic adjustment, especially in Alberta, the heart of the country’s oil patch. Amid the ongoing crude carnage the province has seen soaring property crime, rising food bank usage and, sadly, elevated suicide rates, as Albertans struggle to comprehend how things up north could have gone south (so to speak) so quickly.

The plunging loonie “can only serve to worsen the death of the ‘Canadian Dream'” we said on Tuesday.

As it turns out, we were exactly right.

The currency’s decline is having a pronounced effect on Canadians’ grocery bills. As Bloomberg reminds us, Canada imports around 80% of its fresh fruits and vegetables. When the loonie slides, prices for those good soar. “With lower-income households tending to spend a larger portion of income on food, this side effect of a soft currency brings them the most acute stress,” Bloomberg continues.

Of course with the layoffs piling up, you can expect more households to fall into the “lower-income” category where they will have to struggle to afford things like $3 cucumbers, $8 cauliflower, and $15 Frosted Flakes. Have a look at the following tweets which underscore just how bad it is in Canada’s grocery aisles.

Steve Ladurantaye @sladurantaye

Three bucks. For a cucumber.

2:24 PM – 12 Jan 2016

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Cheap Canadian dollar making fruits and vegetables much more expensive

January 12, 2016

Cheap Canadian dollar making fruits and vegetables much more expensive

Produce prices went up by around 10 per cent last year and may double inflation in 2016

Food and vegetable prices are on the rise because virtually all the produce consumed in Canada comes from the U.S. where the greenback is soaring.

Food and vegetable prices are on the rise because virtually all the produce consumed in Canada comes from the U.S. where the greenback is soaring. (Lynne Sladky/Associated Press)

The sliding loonie could make it harder for some Canadians to eat their Florida oranges or California heads of lettuce this year.

The dropping dollar, which is hovering just above the 70-cent U.S. mark, is expected to continue to leave shoppers with bigger grocery bills, especially when it comes to buying fresh fruit and vegetables.

Nearly all fruit and vegetables consumed in Canada are imported, making them more susceptible to the loonie’s fluctuations.

“It really boils down to the dollar,” said Kevin Grier, an agriculture and food market analyst.

Last year, fruits and veggies jumped in price between 9.1 and 10.1 per cent, according to an annual report by the Food Institute at the University of Guelph. The study predicts these foods will continue to increase above inflation this year, by up to 4.5 per cent for some items.

Sylvain Charlebois, the report’s lead author, said for every U.S. cent the dollar drops, foods that are imported likely increase one per cent or more.

These prices have been on the rise for years.

1 cent = 1% increase

In November 2011, one kilogram of apples cost an average of $3.35 in Canada, according to Statistics Canada. Four years later, the same amount cost $4.12.

One kilogram of celery, meanwhile, increased from $2.23 to $3.08 over the same time frame.

While the increased costs have dealt a blow to everyone’s wallet, they have a more pronounced effect on Canadians living on a tight budget or in remote regions, where fresh fruit and vegetables is more expensive than in more urban areas.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Halifax Superstores warn of short supply due to weather, dollar

December 20, 2015

Halifax Superstores warn of short supply due to weather, dollar

Grocery bills likely will go up in 2016 due to vegetable and fruit prices, a report says

Inflation is modest at 1 per cent, but the price of fresh vegetables was up 11.5 per cent in September, Statistics Canada said.

Inflation is modest at 1 per cent, but the price of fresh vegetables was up 11.5 per cent in September, Statistics Canada said. (Jacques Boissinot/Canadian)

Some grocery stores around Halifax are warning customers they’re having trouble supplying produce due to weather problems and the low Canadian dollar.

A sign posted in the produce section of a Halifax area Superstore apologized to customers for the inconvenience.

​”Due to weather related issues in the growing regions coupled with the impact of U.S. exchange,” the sign reads, “we are unfortunately experiencing significantly higher than normal costs and gaps in supply.”

Superstore note

These signs have been posted in Superstores in the Halifax area. (Nancy Waugh/CBC)

No one from Loblaw, the chain which owns Atlantic Superstore, was available to comment Saturday.

Dominion grocery stores, also owned by Loblaw, posted similar signs in Newfoundland this week.

The price of groceries in Canada has risen by 4.1 per cent in the last year — faster than inflation, according to a recent food price forecast by the University of Guelph.

Canada imports 81 per cent of its produce, much of that from the U.S., which has had variable weather and drought in the last year. That problem has been compounded by a sudden, severe drop of the Canadian dollar last winter, largely due to oil, the report said.

Consumers saw the price of fruit jump by 9.1 per cent and vegetables even more by 10.1, the report found.

Food prices ‘steadily marching up’

Annette d’Eon picked up a few groceries at Quinpool Road’s Superstore Saturday afternoon. Food prices she’s seen have been “steadily marching up,” she said.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Tackle Climate Change Now or Risk 720 Million People Sliding Back Into Extreme Poverty Report Warns

September 26, 2015

Tackle Climate Change Now or Risk 720 Million People Sliding Back Into Extreme Poverty Report Warns

An astonishing 720 million people around the world face falling back into extreme poverty unless we tackle climate change immediately, warns a new report by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI).

The report was published as world leaders gathered this week at the United Nations General Assembly and agreed the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs), among which is the eradication of extreme poverty by 2030.

This goal is achievable, according to the ODI, but not without a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions peak in 2030, and a fall to near zero by 2100. “Climate change increases the probability that those who emerge from extreme poverty will be at risk of falling back into it,” it concludes.

Beyond 2030

Sustaining poverty reduction therefore relies on curbing climate change the report argues.“If the global community is serious about eradicating extreme poverty for good, it needs to think beyond 2030. Eradicating poverty by 2030 will be no great accomplishment if we are incapable of sustaining that achievement from 2030 onwards.”

It continues: “It is policy incoherent for big GHG emitting countries, especially industrialised ones, to support poverty eradication as a development priority, whether through domestic policy or international assistance, while failing to shift their own economy toward a zero net emissions pathway.”

As the report notes, progress on poverty eradication over the past two decades has reduced the percentage of people living on less than $1.25 a day in the developing world – defined as the extreme poor – from 43 percent in 1990 to about 17 percent as of 2011.

Sierra Club ✔@sierraclub

“In order to stop poverty, we must stop climate change.” – Jay Winter Nightwolf, Echota Cherokee nation.

Analysing data on the impact of climate change on food prices, the effects of childhood malnutrition and stunting, the productivity of primary sectors (such as agriculture or mining), and increased droughts, the ODI estimates that up to 720 million people are at risk of facing extreme poverty from 2030 to 2050 under a business-as-usual scenario.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

 

Beef prices could rise further with cruel Alberta drought

August 2, 2015

Beef prices could rise further with cruel Alberta drought

Herd size expected to shrink as ranchers sell off cattle

The price of steaks, roasts and other cuts of beef are expected to increase further because of drought conditions in Alberta, although it may take about a year before consumers feel the full bite on store shelves.

Retail beef prices hit record highs early this year and have continued to climb since then as the number of cattle in the Canada continues to dwindle. Now, drought in Alberta and Saskatchewan means ranchers struggling to feed their animals are choosing to sell some of their cattle at the auction market.

At least nine different counties throughout Alberta have declared states of agricultural disaster due to harsh drought conditions. Many areas received less than 100 mm of rain between the start of April and early July, which is less than 50 per cent of normal rainfall levels. The hardest-hit areas received less than 50 millimetres of precipitation, according to Alberta Agriculture.

Man buying meat at a grocery store

If you thought buying beef this summer was already expensive, prices could rise further with dry conditions in Alberta and Saskatchewan. (Dale Molnar/CBC)

Not only are pastures and hay crops in poor condition, but little feed is available for purchase.

In the short term, for consumers, the price of beef may actually fall slightly as ranchers reduce their herd size, but retail prices may jump further next year as the number of cattle in Canada will be even smaller.

“Over the long run, if the drought causes the cow herd to shrink even further, then the supply, of course, gets tighter,” said Greg Bowie, chair of the Alberta Beef Producers. “It is going to drive the price to a different level again.”

 

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

“Surviving Or Thriving” – What Canada’s 40% Surge In Meat Prices Means For Ordinary People

April 20, 2015

“Surviving Or Thriving” – What Canada’s 40% Surge In Meat Prices Means For Ordinary People

On the surface, Canada’s 1.2% inflation is negligible, and barely enough to keep up with the pace of overall growth as mandated by a few central bank academics. It is below the surface, however, that one finds the scary truth. Because when stripping away the sliding energy prices (which at the recent pace of short covering among oil speculators are about to surge) some scary numbers emerge, such as a 3.8% monthly jump in food prices, primarily as a result of a whopping 30-40% increase in select meat prices in the last 8 months.

How do ordinary people – which excludes those who work in central banks and have taxpayers fund their everyday purchases, which allows them to fully ignore soaring food and rent costs – survive in an environment of soaring food prices?

As the following brief documentary by CBC’s The National reveals, food inflation means people have no choice but to eat “far less beef” than they used to, “or chicken.” Others are ok with the runaway food inflation: “it doesn’t matter to me, I buy the meat at the price it is and that’s fine with me” say a gentleman who likely works for a hedge fund and BTFD for a living.

It is not just meat: prices of Canadian fruits and vegetables have also surged, driven almost entirely by the plunge and the loss of purchasing power of the Canadian dollar.

And, as a vendor of meat observes: “there doesn’t seem to be an end to it.”

So soaring food prices, flat wages, tumbling currency, and a generally deteriorating standard of living. In short: something Japan’s prime minister Abe would call a smashing success.

Full CBC documentary below:

 

…click on the above link to view the video…

Low Inflation? The Price Of Ground Beef Has Risen 17 Percent Over The Past Year

October 24, 2014

Low Inflation? The Price Of Ground Beef Has Risen 17 Percent Over The Past Year.

Inflation Public DomainThanks to the Federal Reserve, the middle class is slowly being suffocated by rising food prices.  Every single dollar in your wallet is constantly becoming less valuable because of the inflation the Fed systematically creates.  And if you try to build wealth by saving money and earning interest on it, you still lose because thanks to the Federal Reserve’s near zero interest rate policies banks pay next to nothing on savings accounts.  The Federal Reserve wants you to either spend your money or to put it in the giant casino that we call the stock market.  But when Americans spend their paychecks they are finding that they don’t stretch as far as they once did.  The cost of living continues to rise at a much faster pace than wages are rising, and this is especially true when it comes to the price of food.

Someone that I know wrote to me today and let me know that she had to shut down the food pantry that she had been running for the poor for so many years.  It isn’t that she didn’t want to help the poor anymore.  It was that she just couldn’t deal with the rising food prices any longer.  Now she is just doing the best that she can to survive herself.

Perhaps you have also noticed that food prices have gotten pretty crazy lately.  In particular, meat prices have become absolutely obscene.  For example, the average price of ground beef has risen to a new record high of over $4.09 a pound.  Over the past twelve months, that works out to a whopping 17 percent increase…

…click on the link above to read the rest of the article…

Post navigation

Newer posts →

Olduvai IV: Courage
Click on image to read excerpts

Olduvai II: Exodus
Click on image to purchase

Click on image to purchase @ FriesenPress