Food prices: Here's how much grocery costs went up in August

Food prices remain stubbornly high in Canada. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) (The Associated Press)

As government officials and grocery store executives discuss ways to stabilize food prices, Canadians are still feeling the sting of inflation on their grocery bills.

The price of food purchased from grocery stores in August increased 6.9 per cent annually, a slower year-over-year pace compared to the 8.5 per cent rise recorded in July, but still above headline inflation. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 4 per cent annually in August.

The food price data come a day after top executives from Canada's biggest grocery retailers met with federal officials, including Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, in Ottawa to discuss stabilizing food prices.

Executives from Loblaw, Metro, Empire, Walmart and Costco met with Champagne, who said after the meeting that the CEOs "have agreed to support the government of Canada in our effort to stabilize food prices in Canada." Details about how that will be achieved were not disclosed.

Food prices have remained stubbornly high in Canada and above headline inflation, even as CPI has cooled from a high of 8.1 per cent hit in June 2022.

Here's a breakdown of the year-over-year price increases in August for food from Canadian grocery stores. The figures in brackets are the year-over-year price increases recorded in July.

Meat: +6.5 per cent (+7.7 per cent)

Dairy products: +6.3 per cent (+7.6 per cent)

Cheese: +3.5 per cent (+6.9 per cent)

Eggs: +3.6 per cent (+3.3 per cent)

Fresh milk: +6.0 per cent (+6.2 per cent)

Bakery products: +7.6 per cent (+9.8 per cent)

Fresh fruit: +0.2 per cent (+4.1 per cent)

Apples: +4.1 per cent (+7.8 per cent)

Oranges: +6.8 per cent (+10.4 per cent)

Fresh vegetables: +8.7 per cent (+9.2 per cent)

Lettuce: +12.4 per cent (+14.4 per cent)

Tomatoes: +12.5 per cent (+14.1 per cent)

Potatoes: +8.5 per cent (+8.3 per cent)

Pasta products: +12.8 per cent (+17.1 per cent)

Frozen food preparations: +8.4 per cent (+20.1 per cent)

Fresh or frozen poultry: +8.9 per cent (+13.7 per cent)

Processed meat: + per cent (+5.2 per cent)

Coffee and tea: +9.0 per cent (+5.8 per cent)

Edible fats and oils: +13.1 per cent (+15.5 per cent)

Condiments, spices and vinegars: +6.5 per cent (+9.9 per cent)

Alicja Siekierska is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow her on Twitter @alicjawithaj.

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