The average Canadian family will pay about $400 more for groceries and roughly $150 more for dining out next year, an annual food price report predicts.
Food prices will rise between 1.5 to 3.5 per cent in 2019, according to the report from researchers at the University of Guelph and Dalhousie University. That means the average family of four will spend $12,157 next year — up $411 from 2018.
Vegetables will see the biggest price jumps — between four and six per cent for the category, according to the report. But the cost of meat and seafood is set to fall as consumers are adopting more plant-based diets.
Canada’s Food Price Report 2019, an independent analysis produced by university researchers, predicts the price of meat will drop by up to three per cent and seafood by two per cent.
“This is a bit of a risk for us … We’ve never done that,” said Sylvain Charlebois, one of the lead researchers and a professor at Dalhousie University, referring to predicting the decline.
Charlebois also says consumers are showing more interest in alternative proteins, like quinoa and lentils.
“We’re seeing a gradual shift to more vegetarian and vegetable-based diets in the markets,” said Simon Somogyi, one of the lead authors of the Food Price Report
The authors call this the “protein wars” with pulses and legumes replacing meat in North American diets, leading to a fall in demand for meat. In the past year, Canadians consumed approximately 94 million kilograms less beef annually, compared to 2010.
Young consumers are leading the way, with 63 per cent of vegans under age 38. That could mean big changes in the tastes of young families down the road.
2019 Food Price Forecast
Bakery Goods: up 3%
Dairy: up 2%
Food: up 2 %
Fruit: up 3%
Meat: down 3%
Restaurants: up 4%
Seafood: down 2%
Vegetables: up 6%
