Do you feel like you’ve been robbed at the grocery store?
A bag of apples at $8, a punnet of raspberries at $7, a cheese on sale that costs more today than the regular price 6 months ago?
Nearly 80% of Canadians feel that the big grocery chains are taking advantage of the pandemic to line their pockets.
None of this is proven, not yet. But the NDP thinks it has reason to believe that the three Canadian giants, Loblaw, Metro and Empire (Sobeys, IGA), are abusing their quasi-monopoly.
The party is calling for an investigation by a federal parliamentary committee where big bosses and experts would come to present their arguments.
The arguments in favor of such an investigation are in any case very convincing.
Monster Profits
The NDP’s calculations point to sharply higher revenues and profits than before the pandemic.
Loblaw made $900 million in net profit in the first two quarters of 2022, compared to $512 million in 2019.
Metro recorded net revenues of $680 million during the first three quarters of 2022, compared to $547 million in 2019.
Same trend at Empire, whose net income rose from $387 million in 2019 to $745 million in 2022.
Meanwhile, food inflation is skyrocketing.
It was 10.8% in August compared to last year, while general inflation was 7.6%.
“In the early 1980s, food inflation was felt for only a few months. Today, it’s been 13 months in a row that[elle] outpaces inflation in general, and it’s not regarding to fade,” says expert Sylvain Charlebois.
It seems that what goes up does not necessarily come down, in food. Mr. Charlebois wonders regarding the price of meat, which remains prohibitive for unexplained reasons.
Is there collusion, cause for scandal? Probably not, according to Mr. Charlebois. What’s clear, though, is that the giants haven’t done much to help the less fortunate feed themselves.
All for profit remains the golden rule.
Need we remind you that these big banners were involved in a bread cartel that spanned 15 years?
Respite
In Europe, large grocery stores have decided to freeze the prices of certain staple foods.
In August, the Carrefour brand, for example, blocked the prices of 100 products until November.
Here, it’s radio silence from our big food chains. Our governments, on the other hand, seem to have only one reflex to fight once morest the rise in the cost of living: to write checks which, in return, contribute to inflation.
The investigation that the NDP is calling for will probably not help in the short term.
Unless the food oligopolies and their shareholders, exposed under the magnifying glass, feel embarrassed enough to offer respite to their customers.
