Food price inflation: It’s not our fault, say grocers

Grocery store profits are not the cause of food inflation, repeated the bosses of Canada’s three major grocery chains on Wednesday afternoon in Ottawa.

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The CEOs of Metro, Loblaw and Empire, the parent company of IGA, appeared before the House of Commons Agriculture and Agri-Food Committee to explain the price increases of the grocery basket.

“Focusing on grocers will not solve the problem of food inflation, because we are not causing it and not taking advantage of it,” said Metro boss Eric La Flèche from the start.

The Quebecer was the only one of the three not to have made the trip to Ottawa. He testified by videoconference.

His counterpart at Loblaw, Galen Weston, was on hand to deliver much the same message. “We’re making $1 profit on a $25 grocery cart,” he said 10 times rather than once.

All the work the committee can do will not change that, added the CEO of the Ontario food giant, who suggests looking beyond grocers to identify the source of the price hike.

Even that the profit made on food products would have decreased at Metro during the 2022 financial year. “These are the facts”, hammered Mr. La Flèche.

Empire boss Michael Medline, for his part, insisted that government and industry must work together to help Canadians cope with the general rise in prices.

Mr. Medline, who ran Canadian Tire not so long ago, is the one of the three bosses who seems to believe the most in the importance of a code of conduct for industry players.

“When I arrived at Empire, I was shocked by the way certain suppliers are treated. We need more transparency,” he said.

Argument

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was present at the Committee and almost made Galen Weston, who represents by far the largest of the three companies present, lose patience.

“Is $1 million in excess profits a day reasonable in your eyes,” the MP asked the Loblaw boss at least 5 times.

Struggling to contain his impatience, Galen Weston replied that the figures presented are false.

Yet they come from a report published last fall by Dalhousie University’s Agrifood Analytical Sciences Laboratory.

It shows that the three chains all posted higher profits in the first half of 2022 than in the previous five years for the same period.

Loblaw stands out, with $180 million more profit for the 6-month period than its previous best results of $1 million per day.