'Sticker shock' as Canadians rethink traditional Thanksgiving meal: analyst
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After more than a year of high food inflation, families gathering this weekend to gobble Thanksgiving dinner may be feeling the pinch after their grocery shopping.
After more than a year of high food inflation, families gathering this weekend to gobble Thanksgiving dinner may be feeling the pinch after their grocery shopping.
Statistics Canada reported last month that prices for food purchased from stores rose 6.9 per cent in August, down from an 8.5 per cent increase in July but still well above the month's headline inflation rate of four per cent.
“Prices haven't went down, so you're going to continue to see fairly large sticker shock on items and it's making consumers re-think the traditional Thanksgiving meal,” said retail analyst Bruce Winder.
“Some people are going to look at alternatives: is there a cheaper alternative that you can use to cook instead of maybe a turkey? Or do you maybe hold back on the big family gathering a little bit more? Do you make more and buy less from stores?”
Last year, the price of a kilogram of fresh turkey was about $6.59, or $42.84 for a 6.5-kilogram bird, according to the Agri-Food Analytics Lab.
A survey of weekly flyers from major grocery chains in the leadup to Thanksgiving shows some stores have seen a markup for the same product. At Metro, a fresh turkey cost $9.90 per kilogram, while at Sobeys, the price was listed at $7.69.
However, Loblaws' flyer for the week showed the price of a kilogram of fresh turkey was $5.49.
