No relief in sight for sky-high grocery bills
Canadian food suppliers are once again issuing notices to grocery retailers, informing them of upcoming price hikes. The letters signal more price increases will hit grocery stores this fall in a year that has already seen nearly double-digit increases in food costs. In some cases, the higher prices are due to the Canadian Dairy Commission’s approval of a second milk price increase this year. Farm gate milk prices are set to go up about two cents per litre, or 2.5 percent, on Sept. 1. Yet dairy-processing companies appear to be tacking on their own increases as well — the so-called piggybacking of price hikes industry observers warned would happen. Lactalis Canada, for example, said in a letter to customers it must implement an average national market increase of five percent this September, a rate it said that takes into account the CDC pricing increase, as well as “significant inflationary costs” the company is facing. Arla Foods Canada issued a similar notice, saying price increases on its products coming this September reflect higher milk ingredient costs and the “inflationary impacts across freight and packaging.” Saputo Dairy Products Canada also said it would implement price increases in the five percent range, depending on the category. “Producers have faced increased production costs, as well as rising feed, energy, and fertilizer costs, which have had a significant impact on this year’s farm gate milk price adjustment,” Saputo said in a letter to its retail customers.
“In addition to these regulated increases, there have been unprecedented and sustained inflationary pressures affecting manufacturing, energy, labor, and distribution costs throughout the entirety of the supply chain.”Source:cbc.ca/
Saturday, May 9, 2026
