With the winter months coming, imported fruits and vegetables will take up more space in the supermarket. Consumers should, however, expect to find less diversity and pay higher prices, warns the Association québécoise de la distribution de fruits et vegetables (AQDFL).
“The banana companies have announced that all contracts have been increased by approximately $ 2 per case as of November,” said Guy Milette, executive vice-president of Courchesne Larose, a fruit import and distribution company and vegetables, also a member of the AQDFL. “It doesn’t sound like a lot, but on a case that originally cost around $ 20, it’s 10%. This 10%, no one but the consumer is going to absorb it. “
The price of imported fruits and vegetables, such as pineapples, bananas, grapes and citrus fruits, will increase, he said in a telephone interview with Press. And the increase in maritime transport costs is not unrelated to this increase.
“If a box of Argentinian lemons cost me $ 18 and from the new shipping cost it costs me $ 22, $ 23, I will sell from $ 23. The consumer always pays for this difference, ”he laments.
However, these price fluctuations are difficult to grasp for grocery store customers, recognizes Sophie Perreault, President and CEO of the AQDFL. “They don’t understand why an item can cost $ 2.99, the next day $ 4, and two weeks later another price. This is because it is determined by the interplay of supply and demand, by temperature, by the price of gasoline and by the value of the dollar. There are [actuellement] a situation where these four factors are really affected from the outset at the same time. A lot of things are beyond our control. “
Mme Perreault does not want consumers to panic, however: fruits and vegetables, there will be. However, people will need to be “open” when shopping, she warns.
Maybe it won’t be the assortment they [les consommateurs] are used to finding. Maybe they will arrive in a week and there will be no ataulfo mangoes or grapes of such variety. The supply is not as constant. You’ll have to be open to discovery, take a good look at the specials, and buy at different degrees of maturity.
Sophie Perreault, President and CEO of the Quebec Fruit and Vegetable Distribution Association
Government assistance requested
Moreover, in an attempt to put a stop to this situation, the players in the North American fresh fruit and vegetable industry are asking governments for help: ” […] We urgently call for government action to address the significant current supply chain disruptions that are impacting our food systems, our economies and, ultimately, individuals and families across the country. continent and the world, ”they wrote in a joint statement drafted at the beginning of November.
“Governments are expected to have concrete discussions [et trouvent] possible solutions that can help, ”adds Mr. Milette, of Courchesne Larose.
Sophie Perreault, for her part, wants the situation “to be temporary”. “I still believe these are items that are relatively inexpensive compared to the rest of the grocery store,” she says. Bananas, at 39 cents, 59 cents or 79 cents, are not expensive for the value, when we have just listed all that it costs to grow, produce, distribute fruits and vegetables. No one jumps for their $ 7 coffee at Starbucks. But carrots at $ 1.99, at $ 2.29, it makes you jump. ”