Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, vegans and vegetarians have faced more food inflation than ordinary consumers, as the prices of vegetables have generally increased more than other food products.
One of the more useful features of the Statistics Canada Food Price Data hub is a facility that allows Canadians to track the price changes of 110 staples over different time periods. The site provides a link to Monthly Average Retail Prices for Selected Products, which allows consumers to track general price movements of many of the common elements of their own regular shopping.
Selecting the beginning period to March 2020, the unofficial start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the end point to the most recent date available (February 2024), consumers can see how average prices for those 110 products have changed over nearly four years.
It shows average prices for standard unit sizes, not percentage changes, and looks only at national averages, not your local retailer.
Still, it’s a very handy tool, and using those particular end points, it shows why being a vegan has been particularly challenging.
Vegetable staples such as carrots and cucumbers have increased in price by 36 and 40 per cent respectively. (Using a March to February comparison also reduces the effect of seasonal variations). Potatoes are up nearly 20 per cent over that span.
Among other staples with notable increases, egg prices have increased 25 per cent and loaves of white bread by 18 per cent, milk by about 13 per cent (there are small variations based on different quantities.)
It will likely surprise some shoppers that there are grocery products with lower prices than four years ago. Oranges and tomatoes prices have declined on average. Bananas are up 2.5 per cent.
Meat eaters have faced more modest changes overall than consumers who focus on vegetables. Ground beef prices are up around 12 per cent, bacon by about 6 per cent and whole chickens (by weight) are essentially unchanged.
The Data Hub provides Canadians with timely data on food prices in one centralized location. It is the result of a collaboration between Statistics Canada, Industry, Science and Economic Development and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
