Food prices set to rise in 2024, report says. But more ‘good news’ than year prior

Steve’s Note

You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. There is no good news, it just isn’t as bad as they thought it could have been.

Canadians hoping for better food prices going into 2024 may not get their wish immediately, but as inflation cools, a new report suggests people could soon see some savings at the grocery store.

The 2024 Food Price Report released by Canadian researchers Thursday estimates food prices will increase by 2.5 to 4.5 per cent over the next year, which is down from the five to seven per cent forecast a year prior. It comes as the heads of two major grocers in Canada are testifying at the House of Commons agriculture committee about plans to stabilize food costs.

“That doesn’t mean that everything is going to be cheaper than it was before. It absolutely is not,” said Janet Music, one of the authors of the report, in an interview with Global News. “But it’s not going to be as expensive if things were going to keep going as they were.”

The report predicts food costs will go up across most categories, with the highest being among bakery, meat and vegetables — all showing an estimated five to seven per cent increase. However, the report expects dairy and fruits will see the lowest rise, at just one to two per cent. Restaurants are expected to see a modest increase of three to five per cent, while what the report calls “other” foods will rise about two to four.

Johnson said with input costs decreasing it has meant a drop in grain prices, while the declining oil prices has resulted in a drop in transportation costs for food as well. He said these factors, as well as other drops in costs like packaging, will likely help ease some of the shocking prices seen earlier this year.

“I think the good news for the consumer is that we’ll continue to see a deceleration of food prices in 2024, probably in the range of around three per cent throughout the year,” Johnson said. |Read more https://globalnews.ca/news/10150504/canada-food-price-report-2024/ | globalnews.ca/news/10150504/ca…

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