The price of food in Canada is forecast to rise by 3.5% in 2019 as the cost of fruit and vegetables increases.
Canada's Food Price Report 2019, an independent analysis produced by university researchers, says, though, that while food prices are set to rise overall in Canada next year, costs for meat and seafood are likely to decline across the country.
The report found that a shift away from eating meat to a more plant-based diet is reducing consumer demand for those products. The 2019 forecast calls for the price of meat in Canada to drop by up to 3% and seafood by 2%. But those predicted decreases will be more than offset by rising prices in other areas in 2019, led by a 6% increase in the price of vegetables.
In all, the annual food expenditure for the average Canadian family of four is expected to increase by $411 in 2019 to around $12,157 for the year. That is more than for 2018, when the overall cost of food rose by 1.8%, in line with the report's predictions for the year, which was a 1% to 3% increase.
