Economists say there are a number of factors driving up food prices, but they expect food inflation to slow over time. Here's a look at what’s behind Canada’s high grocery prices and what to expect in the coming months.
TLDR; climate change, Russia, supply chain not recovered, labor shortages; more price increases expected :/
The grocery stores record profits make it obvious they have more than enough room to absorb a lot of the upstream pressure for price increases. They don’t feel compelled to do so in any way though :/
Sorry, I should have been more clear, my criticism isn’t of your TL;DR, it’s of the fact that it didn’t include capitalism (which I understand is because the article doesn’t, which is what I’m criticising).
They actually do address it. By handwaving it away with practically no analysis. This article might as well be paid for by the grocery industry.
BIG GROCERS DICTATING FOOD PRICES
Many Canadians have pointed the finger at big corporations for how expensive groceries have become over the past few years, but Huggins said the issue of high food prices is a bit more complex.
In Canada, five retailers — Loblaw, Sobeys, Metro, Walmart and Costco — control an estimated 80 per cent of the grocery market share, according to a 2021 study from the federal government.
As Huggins pointed out, these companies make up an oligopoly, which is a market dominated by a small group of suppliers, so they are able to exercise their power in the market and have “very protected profit margins.”
However, he said there hasn’t been much evidence of them abusing their power in the market to drive up food prices in the last two years.
“In the early days of the pandemic, there was some jockeying for price increases, mostly because there were big supply disruptions happening, but we haven’t seen an enormous amount of it,” he added.
“They’ve certainly been able to prevent their profits from coming down, but I haven’t seen a lot of exploitative size numbers.”
Under capitalism we don’t produce food for the purpose of feeding people, we produce it to make a profit. If a person can’t afford to buy food, we let the person starve and the food rot on the shelf.
There are some exceptions, but the vast majority of farms in Canada, and around the world, operate under a socialist model – they are owned by the workers.
What you describe isn’t a feature of capitalism, it is a feature of human nature. Someone giving up their life to grow food wants something in return. People don’t like having to give up their life, so if you have nothing to offer in return, people don’t take too kindly to that.
Back when I worked in a grocery store one of my regular tasks was processing unsalable product. There is… a lot that gets thrown away. And from what I hear it is much worse in other parts of the world.
I used to work in cold storage distribution for Loblaws. There is even so much more thrown out before it gets to the store, we had a giant bin that would get emptied once our twice a week. Someone eventually organized something to donate discarded produce to the local shelters and the zoo I think so at least it wasn’t going to waste, hopefully they are still doing that.
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You list all the reasons but the one that actually matters and is responsible for all of the others: capitalism.
Why do people find it so hard to say/admit?
Oh, it’s a TLDR of the article, not my opinion.
The grocery stores record profits make it obvious they have more than enough room to absorb a lot of the upstream pressure for price increases. They don’t feel compelled to do so in any way though :/
The margins have grown considerably in the past year, yes, but they also know what’s coming. Make hay while the sun shines.
Sorry, I should have been more clear, my criticism isn’t of your TL;DR, it’s of the fact that it didn’t include capitalism (which I understand is because the article doesn’t, which is what I’m criticising).
Came here to say the same. Greed.
They actually do address it. By handwaving it away with practically no analysis. This article might as well be paid for by the grocery industry.
Under capitalism we don’t produce food for the purpose of feeding people, we produce it to make a profit. If a person can’t afford to buy food, we let the person starve and the food rot on the shelf.
There are some exceptions, but the vast majority of farms in Canada, and around the world, operate under a socialist model – they are owned by the workers.
What you describe isn’t a feature of capitalism, it is a feature of human nature. Someone giving up their life to grow food wants something in return. People don’t like having to give up their life, so if you have nothing to offer in return, people don’t take too kindly to that.
Back when I worked in a grocery store one of my regular tasks was processing unsalable product. There is… a lot that gets thrown away. And from what I hear it is much worse in other parts of the world.
I used to work in cold storage distribution for Loblaws. There is even so much more thrown out before it gets to the store, we had a giant bin that would get emptied once our twice a week. Someone eventually organized something to donate discarded produce to the local shelters and the zoo I think so at least it wasn’t going to waste, hopefully they are still doing that.