No immediate relief in sight for British Columbians as inflation rate skyrockets, experts say

Quick relief for spiking food prices likely isn't in the cards for British Columbians, experts say, as inflation reaches new heights in Canada.

The cost of living continues to rise at the fastest pace in decades in the country, with the official inflation rate rising at a 6.8 per cent annual pace in April, a new 31-year high.

For B.C. specifically, the rate of increase was slightly lower at 6.7 per cent. 

Food prices nationally have also risen by 9.7 per cent in the past year according to Statistics Canada — the largest increase in a one-year period since September 1981.

"It's not really demand pushing the prices up for food. It really is a supply chain story," said James Vercammen, a food and resource economics professor at the University of British Columbia.

He says the largest issue is that inflationary pressures are being felt at every step of the food production process.

Janet Music with the agri-food analytics lab at Dalhousie University adds that the Russia-Ukraine war has a part to play in the crisis.

She points to the price of wheat as an example, with Ukraine being one of the world's largest producers of the grain.

"You're seeing an increase in [the price of] pasta and breads and flour over the last six months, and that can be attributed to that," she said. 

Vercammen and Music also say the COVID-19 pandemic had led many employees to exit the labour market, creating disruption to the supply chain.

Both experts say they see a grim future without regulatory action.

"If your income is connected to the overall cost of living, food is becoming increasingly expensive and it does make a difference year after year," Vercammen said.

"When you look over a two- or three-year horizon, it's not hard to get to 20 per cent higher food costs."