The impact of the weaker Canadian dollar is starting to come into focus – or at least the impact it could have on your grocery bill.
According to the University of Guelph’s Food Institute, imported foods will see sharp increases to their prices, with fruits, vegetables and nuts leading the way.
“Because they are edible imported products, and there is a lack of substitutes, they are especially vulnerable to currency fluctuations,” reads a report from the institute released Tuesday.
Last December, the institute called for “food inflation” to sit around 2.4 per cent in 2015, driven by pricier meat, fish, seafood and produce items.
The low dollar was factored into those calculations – but it has fallen further than expected, and some analysts expect it to sink as low as 75 cents U.S., prompting the revised predictions.
Specifically, the Food Institute forecasts vegetable prices to rise by as much as 7.5 per cent by the end of the year, with nuts and fruits somewhere between 3 per cent and 5 per cent.
Canada will likely import about $40 million worth of food products in 2015, according to the report.
