British Columbians will see significantly higher grocery bills in 2023, report says

There's no relief in sight from rising grocery bills in B.C., according a report released Monday.

According to Canada's Food Price Report for 2023, a family of four is expected to pay $1,065 more for groceries next year.

CTV News spoke to grocery shoppers in Metro Vancouver about how hard they are being hit by the rising costs.

"It makes me upset of course. I don't want to spend more money on stuff that was cheaper last year," said shopper Keith Bakker.

"My bill used to be $75 and now it's $150. And it sucks," said another shopper Pierce Redpath.

"A lot fewer items are coming home at a time and it's costing a lot more," added Mackenzie Gartner, another shopper.

And not one section of the grocery store has been spared from rising costs.

Grocery prices were up 11 per cent in October compared with a year before while overall food costs were up 10.1 per cent, according to Statistics Canada.

Food prices in Canada will continue to climb in the New Year, with grocery costs forecast to rise up to seven per cent in 2023, new research predicts.

"Unfortunately being a senior on a fixed income ... there's things I can go without now," said shopper Ron Macbeth.

"I look at the price. If they're priced themselves out of my market, then yeah, I don't buy them," he continued.

Kelleen Wiseman, the UBC team lead for the report, said there are still ways to find cheaper groceries -- you just need to do a bit of digging.

"We live in the Lower Mainland. It has these discount stores and these very cool fruit and vegetable stores. There are some good products and good prices that are still to be had in those," she said.

With supply chain issues, cost is only one of the challenges facing grocery shoppers.

"'Shelflation' is when the shelf-life of a product is compromised by supply chain inefficiencies. So, delays at the border, the fact that there are breakdowns across the supply chain will actually offer consumers products that are not as fresh as they used to be," said Sylvain Charlebois, the lead author of the report and Dalhousie University professor of food distribution and policy.

"So when you buy a product, you go home. It won't last as long. You're basically forced to throw away that product which adds to your food bill," he added.

According to the report, multiple factors could influence food prices next year, including climate change, geopolitical conflicts, rising energy costs and the lingering effects of COVID-19.

But the good news is that the high prices are expected to level off by the second half of the year.

In the meantime, consumers are urged to shop wisely, look for sales and buy in bulk.