Consumers may be starting to see a bit of relief in the grocery store as prices stabilize, and in some cases start to drop.
The latest inflation figures are due out today.
Researcher Sylvain Charlebois at Dalhousie’s Food Analytics Lab says many farm commodities, staples like corn, barley and wheat, have come down dramatically in price, easing food inflation rates across the supply chain.
Where the price relief is found, depends, but the dramatic volatility noticed by consumers in recent years appears to be leveling out.
He says there’s been less fluctuation in retail dating back to April, with “some categories calmer since March.” Chalebois says produce in particular seems to have leveled off, as well as “centre of the store items.” He says some dry goods are actually cheaper while the freezer aisle is actually not seeing a whole lot of fluctuation.
The meat counter, however, is where consumers are still encountering rising prices.
“In particular beef,” says Charlebois, where prices are still going up “due to droughts affecting both the US and Canada.” Chicken and pork prices are also going up.