Conagra Brands on Thursday joined rival General Mills in trimming its annual profit forecast and warning that price cuts on its products across grocery, snacks and frozen food items to spark demand will weigh on margins.
Conagra trims profit forecast as higher inflation, promotions to dent margins
World food prices reach 19-month high in November, UN says
The United Nations' world food price index rose in November to its highest level since April 2023, recording its biggest gain in 19 months on the back of surging vegetable oil prices, data showed on Friday.
World food prices reach 18-month high in October, UN says
World food prices rose in October to an 18-month high as vegetable oils led increases seen in most food staples, United Nations' data showed on Friday.
Opinion: Food sales mirror Canada’s impoverishment
Our population is growing much faster than our GDP and food spending is falling
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada appears to be a “trading-down” market, a trend that may persist for some time. Recent data from Statistics Canada on the food retail and service industries, as well as fresh GDP figures, paint a concerning picture, especially for those looking to attract more food companies or grocers to our country. Our population grew by […] Read more
Opinion: The emerging consensus on food prices
Why all political parties agree that the grocer code of conduct is necessary
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Parliamentary Agriculture Committee has embarked on a mission to address rising food prices, extending an invitation to both Loblaw and Walmart. In a letter from the committee, Ottawa urges both retailers to voluntarily comply with the proposed grocer’s code of conduct or risk facing legislative action. In other words, Canada is on the verge […] Read more
No silver bullet for food price inflation
The causes might not be what you think they are, one food academic says
Reading Time: 4 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Canadian food price inflation has many causes, but grocers gouging customers isn’t one of them, Michael von Massow of the University of Guelph said during the December Fields on Wheels conference hosted by the University of Manitoba. Even the carbon tax hasn’t had much impact, according to the associate professor of food […] Read more
Loblaw’s gaffe and apology
The grocers code of conduct is needed to offset political grandstanding
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa recently witnessed a dramatic scene, especially during the proceedings of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, where a few witnesses chose to prioritize their agendas over assisting our elected officials in comprehending the complexities of food prices and the necessary actions to be taken. One particular individual, an economist seemingly more interested in grabbing headlines […] Read more
World food price index ends 2023 some ten per cent below 2022 levels
Cereal prices, vegetable oils slumped most over the year, FAO says
The Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 118.5 points in December, down 1.5 per cent from November and 10.1 per cent below December 2022 levels.
Opinion: Sticker shock on grocery profits hides truth
The total number doesn’t look at profit margins, which paint a clearer picture
Reading Time: 3 minutes When it comes to selecting the most significant non-scandal of 2023, the “greedflation” campaign is the absolute winner. Politicians, and even some knowledgeable economists, have convinced many that Canadian grocers have taken advantage of the recent inflationary cycle to profit unfairly. Despite compelling data and many reports pointing to the contrary, many Canadians remain convinced […] Read more
Report sees lower Canadian food inflation through end of 2024
Project lead Sylvain Charlebois sees return to inflation “sweet spot” by year-end
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canadian food prices are expected to rise between 2.5 and 4.5 per cent in 2024, according to a new report. “It is probable that Canadians will continue to experience the strain of food inflation compounded by increasing costs of housing, energy and various other expenditures,” says Canada’s Food Price Report 2024, an annual joint effort […] Read more
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