Experts expect food and gas prices to rise

HALIFAX -

If you’ve found it difficult to purchase certain products and goods lately, you’re not alone. Experts say the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the global supply chain, slowing economies that are now picking up the pace. This has lead to shortages for some items and rising prices for others.

At Sweet Jane’s Gift and Confectionary in downtown Halifax, the store shelves seem full. But owner Janet Merrithew notes some supplies are delayed coming in and several suppliers have been contacting her last minute to say shipping costs are going up.

“Our prices have not changed yet. Certainly leading up to Christmas they’re going to increase slightly. We’re going to try to not increase them too much” said Merrithew, adding suppliers will eat some of the cost and so will her business.

She recently heard from a supplier who told her a shipping container that would normally cost $4,000 will now cost $21,000 instead. Not all items she’s ordered have arrived on time. Stuffed toys have been coming in as back orders—meaning orders from three months ago still haven’t arrived and when it does, only 10 to 20 per cent of what was ordered shows up.

“Our suppliers are saying tell your customers to get out and buy now if there’s something in particular they want for Christmas,” Merrithew said.

Experts are forecasting gas and food prices to go up. COVID-19 created hiccups in global supply chains, slowing economies down but demand is now picking up.

As demand for gas grows, the President of Canadians for Affordable Energy Dan McTeague said prices will also go up.

“That could be anything from natural gas to propane to diesel to jet fuel to stove oil to heating oil,” McTeague said.

“All of those things are going up in response to what is really a pent up demand now starting to make its presence known and as a result supply just isn’t there.”

Sylvain Charlebois, Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, also expects food prices to rise. At grocery stores, he believes price hikes will happen incrementally.

“Instead of going up 15 to 20 per cent in one day, they may decide to up 5 per cent a month until Christmas for example,” Charlebois said. “Mother Nature, transportation and labour. Those are the three factors making our food basket more expensive right now.”

The trucking industry is facing a labour shortage. One that the Executive Director of Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association (APTA) said existed before COVID but has become more exposed because of it. Jean-Marc Picard of APTA cites a pause to driving schools and immigration as well as ongoing COVID restrictions as reasons why people either couldn’t enter the industry or left.

“I talked to a company in P.E.I. a few weeks ago and they need 10 customers like tomorrow and they’re refusing loads from customers because they need drivers,” said Picard.

Charlebois says when it comes to food, he recommends customers wait until the last minute to buy food, and use ‘Enjoy Tonight’ deals as much as possible, rather than hoarding items.