Ontarians shopping at grocery stores may have noticed their bills have been fluctuating recently.
For most shoppers, bills have been on the higher side since the start of the year as inflation continues to impact the wallets of shoppers.
Data from Statistics Canada shows Ontarians are not feeling reprieve at the grocery store as the prices of pantry and fridge staples are once again ticking up.
The Statistics Canada monthly average retail price for select products shows a number of common products have increased in price since the start of the year.
Between January and May of this year, Statistics Canada has recorded increasing prices for everything from dairy products to fresh meat and lentils.
Statistics Canada found in April of 2022, the price of food rose by 9.7 per cent. Canadians had to pay much more for basic food staples, such as fresh fruit up 10 per cent, meat up10.1 per cent and fresh vegetables increasing 8.2 per cent in price.
While some items have increased as much as 87 per cent, others items have declined in price as much as 35 per cent from January to May.
The data from Statistics Canada shows the items that have increased the most in the last five months are pork shoulder cuts, jumping 87 per cent per kilogram, individual cantaloupes increased by 36 per cent and a 1.36-kilogram bag of onions jumped 28 per cent.
Alternately, individual cucumbers have fallen 35 per cent in price, followed by a price drop of 28 per cent for a kilogram of tomatoes. Pork loin cuts dropped 13 per cent in price.
Here are some common kitchen staples that have increased over the last five months, as well as some that have seen price decreases.
In an effort to further combat inflation, the Bank of Canada on Wednesday hiked its overnight rate by 100 base points – the largest rate hike since August, 1998.
More price increases may be on the way with Canadian food suppliers signalling a price hike could be coming to grocery stores this fall.
Statistics Canada said will be releasing the Consumer Price Index for June on July 20.
