Largest jump in food prices in a decade forecasted for 2022

Get ready to pay a lot more for groceries next year.

Food prices across the board are expected to go up in 2022 by as much as seven per cent.

It’s the largest forecasted jump in food prices in over a decade.

For the average family of four next year, you can expect to spend about an extra thousand dollars on groceries.

Forecasters expect dairy prices will rise the most, by as much as eight per cent over the course of the year.

But, produce, meats, and baked goods are all expected to be quite a bit more expensive, as well.

Even restaurants are expected to raise their prices by up to eight per cent.

So, why is this happening?

Sylvain Charlebois, a food expert at Dalhousie University who produces the annual Canada’s Food Price Report, said COVID-19-related disruptions to the supply chain as well as climate change and labour shortages are all contributing factors.

"We have seen prices rise since I would say 2008, 2009. And so we have to be realistic here. Food was actually quite cheap for several decades in Canada from I would say 1980 to the early 2000s and now we are seeing prices reflecting the actual cost to produce food,” he said in an interview.

Some grocery store owners say prices are changing every week and are becoming harder and harder to predict.

Tony Esposito, co-owner of Le Marché Esposito in Monreal’s Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood, said when he speaks with his customers about the prices, they tell him they're shocked and concerned.

"When you have to stick to a budget for your groceries and your expenses, it hurts,” he said.

Charlebois said because wages have not kept up with inflation, more and more Canadians will likely find it harder to put food on the table.