FoodFare’s Munther Zeid told Global News that some meat items are up to as much as 30 to 40 per cent in comparison to last year.
“This time last year we were selling t-bones on sale for around $7.99 — depending on the week (and even that was hot) — now on sale for $11.99 to $12.99 a pound.”
Zeid adds this is due to the great distance in economic re-openings in the United States and Canada. More premium cuts are being shipped down south since there’s a higher demand for them.
“We’ve been told that because the Canadian market — a lot of restaurants are closed — meat consumption is still up in the stores but overall they are not moving as much, so a lot of it is going down south to the states which is open,” Zeid said.
“Which means we have to pay a premium to keep the products in the city.”
He says this trickle-down effect will soon be felt in other areas of the grocery store as well.
“We’ve been informed by bread companies that by the end of June or July, you can expect some increases – dry goods have been slowing going up, also. Produce, depending; it’s fluctuating but everything seems to be going up.”
A monthly list of food price increases can be viewed here on Statistics Canada’s website.