Food Prices Skyrocket Across Canada: Broccoli 400%, Celery 600%, Strawberries 1200%

(Jeff Nielson)  I spend most of my time dealing with U.S. economic lies simply because it’s much easier to make my analytical points. There is a lot more data, it’s splashed all over the place, and (usually) the lies are even bigger South of the Border, which makes the analytical point more vivid.
However, in the month of December, the prices for fresh produce (in Vancouver) spiked in the month of December at the highest rate I have ever seen in my life, almost across the board. Prices rose for most fresh produce by between 10% and 30% IN ONE MONTH, with some of the prices increase even larger.
– broccoli from $3/lb to $4/lb, a 33% increase (at the cheaper supermarkets)
– celery from $2/lb to $3/lb, a 50% increase
– strawberries from $4/lb to $8/lb, a 100% increase
But we’re used to seeing inflation numbers expressed as annualized figures, so let’s convert those monthly numbers to annual numbers
broccoli – 400% inflation
celery – 600% inflation
strawberries – 1200% inflation
Now obviously I do not expect the numbers to rise again next month, or even the month after. So I won’t go “Chicken Little” here, and claim that hyperinflation has already arrived in Canada. But, the food inflation rate in Canada is rising EXPONENTIALLY, overall. It was roughly 20% per year, then roughly 30% per year, and (with even one or two more price-shocks) we could easily be looking at a FOOD INFLATION RATE in CANADA of 50%.

Now the lies:
Cost of food in Canada increased 3.70 percent in December of 2015 over the same month in the previous year. Food Inflation in Canada averaged 3.98 percent from 1951 until 2015, reaching an all time high of 20.18 percent in July of 1978 and a record low of -7.14 percent in December of 1952. Food Inflation in Canada is reported by the Statistics Canada.
Now lets compare the lies to the Truth (as evidenced by my grocery receipts). Even if we assume that all other grocery spending is flat, produce spending alone accounts for a large portion of every shopping dollar.
I’ve gotten to know the manager quite well, at the supermarket where I do most of my shopping. He tells me that I’m not alone in having switched away from chemical-filled, GMO-polluted packaged foods, and that a large portion of shoppers now exhibit that similar pattern. From watching other shoppers, I think it’s relatively safe to say that those who do not shop in this pattern are either older people (set in their ways) or people who are simply too poor to shop healthier.
For a produce-heavy food basket, in Vancouver, in the month of December, overall prices rose at least 10% (and looking at my own grocery bills, it was more likely 15%). We’re forced to eat more fruits and vegetables, because of EXPONENTIALLY RISING MEAT PRICES. Thus an explosion in prices for fresh produce will have a major impact on most (healthy) shoppers.
Even a 10% rise (in one month) translates to an annual, overall, food inflation rate in December of 120%. And it’s hard to believe that prices were not rising at a similar rate in much/most of Canada. Now back to the lies.
Cost of food in Canada increased 3.70 percent in December of 2015…reaching an all time high of 20.18 percent in July of 1978.
120% versus 3.7%That is a Big Lie. It just goes to show that in 2016, we here in Canada can now lie like the Americans…