New figures show that grocery inflation in Canada rose again in November as the price of staples like bread, eggs and dairy soared.
According to Statistics Canada, prices for food purchased from stores rose 11.4% last month compared to a year ago, compared to 11% in October.
The agency says grocery prices have now risen at a faster rate than headline inflation for 12 consecutive months.
The country’s annual inflation rate fell slightly in November to 6.8%.
Prices for coffee and tea rose 16.8% in November, while items like butter soared 23.1%, eggs rose 16.7% and bread and rolls saw a surge. increase of 18.2%.
Other items rising in price include sugar and syrup, up 18.8% year-over-year, pasta (+17.1%), lettuce (+31.9%) as well as flour and flour-based mixtures (+20.5%).
Rising grocery prices are a global phenomenon, with countries like France, Germany and the UK posting even higher food inflation rates than Canada last month, says Professor Sylvain Charlebois of the Dalhousie University in Halifax.
Yet much of Canada’s food is produced domestically, and prices are rising due to a host of factors, including higher labour, input and energy costs, he adds. -he.
“Many collective agreements are being negotiated with salary increases of more than 5% and this puts pressure on the cost of production,” explains Mr. Charlebois. An example is the packaging used by food companies. We have seen the prices of packaging like egg cartons rise dramatically. »
It could be some time before Canadians see food prices stabilize, he said.
“We are still here for the next four to six months,” observes Mr. Charlebois. We expect things to happen in the spring. »