Food prices set to rise in 2024, report says. But more ‘good news’ than year prior
Canadians hoping for better food prices going into 2024 may not get their wish immediately, but as inflation cools, a new report suggests people could soon see some savings at the grocery store.
The 2024 Food Price Report released by Canadian researchers Thursday estimates food prices will increase by 2.5 to 4.5 per cent over the next year, which is down from the five to seven per cent forecast a year prior.
“That doesn’t mean that everything is going to be cheaper than it was before. It absolutely is not,” said Janet Music, one of the authors of the report, in an interview with Global News. “But it’s not going to be as expensive if things were going to keep going as they were.”
The report predicts food costs will go up across most categories, with the highest being among bakery, meat and vegetables — all showing an estimated five to seven per cent increase. However, the report expects dairy and fruits will see the lowest rise, at just one to two per cent. Restaurants are expected to see a modest increase of three to five per cent, while what the report calls “other” foods will rise about two to four.
According to the researchers, on average, a family of four can expect to spend up to $16,297.20, an increase of about $701.79 compared with what was spent in 2023. A two-adult household is expected to spend about $7,715.78, an increase of about $4 from the predicted amount the year prior.
The annual report is led by teams from Dalhousie University, the University of British Columbia, the University of Guelph and the University of Saskatchewan who use price data from the past 100 years to help create prediction models. Global events and other potential impacts are also factored in to form a detailed outlook for the months to
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