Weak dollar will hit household budgets

Canadian households can expect higher grocery bills due to the weakened dollar. Next week the University of Guelph’s Food Institute will publish an updated edition of its 2015 Food Price Report to reflect the lower value of the loonie and Professor Sylvain Charlebois has told the Calgary Herald that prices are likely to rise sooner rather than later. He expects that items from south of the border including many fresh fruit and vegetables could become more expensive within weeks. Although wholesalers and grocery stores try to absorb some price increases with the higher costs of meat in recent months they may have squeezed their margins as much as they are prepared to.

Jamie Henry