Families to spend up to $420 more on groceries, restaurants in 2017, report says
TORONTO — The typical Canadian family will spend up to $420 more on groceries and dining out next year, getting little relief from a recent drop in the cost of food, suggests a new report released Monday.
A study by researchers at Dalhousie University in Halifax estimates food inflation will increase in 2017, driven by a falling loonie and U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s first year in the White House.
Food prices overall are expected to rise between three and five per cent, with meat (especially chicken and pork), vegetables, fish and other seafood among those projected to jump by four to six per cent.
Fruit and nut prices are anticipated to go up between three and five per cent, while the costs of dairy, eggs, bakery goods and cereals are forecast to increase by up to two per cent. Restaurant costs will rise by two to four per cent, the report says.