Saskatchewan grocery prices on the rise for 2023

According to Sylvain Charlebois, the director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, food prices are expected to rise five to seven per cent in 2023.

It’s no secret that prices at the grocery store seem to keep rising, and according to some, people can expect to spend even more in 2023 to feed their families.

According to Sylvain Charlebois, the director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, they expect food prices to rise five to seven per cent in the first half of 2023.

“For an average family of four, we’re expecting that food bill to increase by about $1,000, which is the largest increase we’ve ever predicted in 13 years,” Charlebois said.

“We’re expecting the bulk of the increase to happen during the first half of 2022. The second half things will likely calm down a little bit.”

Charlebois expects inflation to be felt the most in three specific categories: vegetables, bakery and dairy. And while the rise may be difficult, he says it could be worse.

“Canada’s food inflation rate is actually one of the lowest in the world right now at 10.3 per cent,” Charlebois explained. “Only Japan has a lower food inflation rate and interest rates have actually not moved up in Japan.

“So we’re doing okay in the grand scheme of things, which means really that we’re dealing with a global phenomenon.”

That phenomenon has been felt for months now in Saskatchewan.