Grocery price increases outpace overall inflation for third straight month: StatCan

Grocery prices increase

Photo: The Canadian Press

Despite the annual pace of inflation cooling last month, Statistics Canada says consumers continue to pay higher costs for groceries as food prices rose faster in April than they did the previous month.  

Despite the annual pace of inflation cooling last month, Statistics Canada says consumers continue to pay higher costs for groceries.

The agency reports prices for food purchased from stores increased 3.8 per cent on a year-over-year basis, up from 3.2 per cent annual growth in March.

It marks the third straight month that grocery price increases outpaced the overall inflation rate, which was 1.7 per cent in April.

StatCan says items that contributed most to year-over-year price acceleration include fresh vegetables, for which prices rose 3.7 per cent, fresh or frozen beef at 16.2 per cent growth, and coffee and tea at 13.4 per cent.

Some of Canada's large grocers have warned of price hikes due to added costs from U.S.-Canada tariffs, with Loblaw Cos. Ltd. chief executive Per Bank saying last week the number of tariff-hit products at the grocery store could soon spike as pre-tariff inventory runs out.

Loblaw has been aggressive in marking products on display affected by tariffs, a tally that last week reached over 1,000 items, but Bank said the total will rise to more than 3,000 by next week and could peak at double that number within the next two months.