Some food prices in Saskatchewan are rising faster than inflation, according to Statistics Canada.
Since October 2018, olive oil, onions, pork shoulder cuts, margarine and broccoli have all risen in price by more than 70 percent.
Overall, the average price of 106 food items tracked by Statistics Canada in Saskatchewan increased by 32 per cent over the same period.
Food prices have become an important source of public concern in recent years. On December 14, the federal government will impose a two-month pause on GST on certain food items.
“I have a nephew who has six kids. It's just ridiculous, the amount that's gone up for them in the last few years,” said Regina shopper Maggie Rex. “I think (the costs) are terrible.”
Another shopper in Regina, Hans Bromky, said he is buying less food overall. The price of pork in particular has been a concern for him.
“I buy a lot less than I used to,” he said.
Bromkie said it's hard to stay away from some of the skyrocketing fruits and vegetables.
“You must eat,” he said. “It's hard to cut back on some of these things.”
According to Michael Von Masso, a professor in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Guelph, no single cause should be blamed for the price increase.
“We've had this perfect storm of a lot of things happening at almost the same time,” he said.
The main drivers, however, are droughts in major food exporting countries, the ongoing war in Ukraine and a weak Canadian dollar.
Canada imports a large amount of its products from the US, which makes it vulnerable to currency fluctuations.
“We're competing with other parts of the world for production in southern California, northern Mexico and South America,” von Masso said. “And we're paying for it with a weak Canadian dollar.”
In 2025, food prices in Canada are predicted to rise by five per cent, with Saskatchewan projected to fare slightly better.
The rise in the price of margarine, according to von Masso, illustrates how these broader geopolitical changes interact with each other.
“Olive oil went through the roof because of very poor growing conditions in the Mediterranean basin, Spain and Italy,” he said. “And so, we saw those prices go up. The fact that sunflower oil doesn't come out of Ukraine made it worse.
“Those products are substitutes. If there is less sunflower oil and less olive oil, the price of all oils goes up. Margarine is a vegetable oil product.”
Olive oil prices have risen more than any other food product tracked by Statistics Canada — up 119 per cent since October 2018.
Will Levers runs three specialty olive oil shops on Vancouver Island. He has closely followed the drought that began four years ago in southern Europe and agrees with von Masso that the volatile prices of produce can be traced back to that drought.
“We always used to get olive oil from Tunisia, and very high grade olive oil,” he said. “We haven't had anything since the drought, so it's been four years. It's a global effect, but most of it is drought.”
Canada also imports olive oil from the US and many other countries in the Southern Hemisphere, but the impact of the European drought was so great that it could not be offset by other countries.
Levirs said olive oil prices are likely to rise or fall in the coming years, as European production comes back online.
According to Canadian Food Price ReportFood prices in Saskatchewan will increase by 2.8 per cent in 2024. They are projected to grow by the same amount in 2025, which will be lower than the national average.
