Canadians dishing out more for favourite foods

REGINA – You may have noticed yourself dishing out a little more on some of your favorite foods lately. Prices on everything from coffee, to meat and now even chocolate are on the rise.

A couple major candy manufacturers raised the alarm on a potential global shortage of cocoa earlier this week, which is shocking to some people like Regina resident Gladis Tomski.

“If it does happen it’s going to be devastating to all the women in the world,” she joked Sunday.

We love chocolate so much, global demand is quickly outpacing supply and that’s resulted in a 60 per cent price hike since 2012.

Audrey Meunier has worked as a sales clerk at Regina’s Laura Secord and said she’s seen prices continue to climb over the last few years.

“Whether it becomes a delicacy? It might over the course of the years,” she said.

Chocolate isn’t the only thing you may be paying more for: a low supply of beef is also driving deli prices up.

The owner of Butcher Boy Meats, David Howes, said he is use to seeing spiked prices for beef and pork, but this year he’s seen a different trend.

“It tends to rise throughout the summer, but this year it’s been particularly high and by now, in November, we’d expect it to drop, but I haven’t seen it drop,” he added.

Howes said if things don’t level out soon, it could run into his businesses’ bottom line.

“If they continue to rise and I don’t put my prices up, it’s going to cut into profits.”

As a result of a price spike on things like meat and coffee beans, even Tim Horton’s is expected to raise its meal and coffee prices by Wednesday.

Resident Tonia Parson said she’s also seen an increase in the price for a cup of Joe at other locations in the city.

“It adds up pretty quick in a five day work week,” she added.

Despite the rising prices for some of our favorite products, it appears it isn’t keeping consumers at bay, especially ahead of the holidays.

“Everybody likes chocolate and no matter what, people are going to buy it, “ explained Meunier.

One of the few things on the decline is the prices at the pump, which Co-op gas attendant Taylor Nally said is boosting many residents’ moods.

“It’s below a dollar which it hasn’t been in a while, so yes people are a lot happier coming to the station for sure.”

However, experts argue lower oil prices can drag down the Canadian dollar and ultimately make our consumer goods cost more.

The hope is thing turn themselves around, or we may need to find other comfort foods to fall back on.