A food industry expert is warning of sharp price increases at the checkout in the new year.
Sylvain Charlebois of the Dalhousie Agri-Food Analytics Lab says Competition Bureau regulations which are intended to freeze prices in the lead-up to Christmas actually means higher prices before and after the freeze.
The federal bureau mandates that suppliers cannot increase prices between November 1 and the end January, ensuring grocery stores don’t raise prices during the busy holiday season.
The practice only applies to pre-packaged, shelf-stable foods.
(Sylvain Charlebois)
However, Charlebois says it ends up having the reverse effect as many suppliers hike their rates just before the freeze takes effect and as soon as it lifts.
“If you look at Statistics Canada and the data over 30 years, the most volatile months are during the blackout period,” he said.
“What really happens out there is that if you’re a supplier, you’re likely going to jack up prices in October because you know that for three months you can’t raise prices and when February comes around, you’re going to lift prices again.”
