Weather a contributing factor in rising food prices
Drought in South America and typhoons in Asia are contributing to rising food costs.
With prices at the grocery store soaring in Canada, one item, in particular, has seen a significant year-over-year cost bump – and the weather is partly to blame.
Vegetable oil tops the list with the most significant price jump, according to a recent report by the CBC using data from Statistics Canada. In August 2021, a three-litre container sold for an average of $8.45, jumping to $12.01 by August 2022 - a difference of $3.56, the CBC says.
Statistics Canada says grocery prices overall increased at a pace of 11.4 per cent in September compared to a year ago, marking the fastest grocery bill rise in 40 years.
A number of factors are involved in making vegetable oil and other groceries more expensive, including the Russia-Ukraine war and higher prices for fertilizer and natural gas.
But the weather is also contributing - particularly the drought in South America and Typhoon Nesat in Malaysia.
While it's hard to say when food prices will stabilize Simon Somogyi, a food professor at the University of Guelph, tells the CBC that vegetable oil prices have shown signs of lowering. We should begin to see price reductions make their way to store shelves soon.
