Food prices are going up but the farmers’ share of that consumer dollar is going down.
A study based on the cost for a week’s worth of food for a family of four found that the groceries purchased for $188.22 last year cost $194.23 this year.
Alma Kennedy, a retired professor who conducted the study for Keystone Agricultural Producers in Manitoba, Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan and Wild Rose Agricultural Producers in Alberta, also found that while the cost went up 3.2 percent, the farmer received 1.7 percent less money.
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“Put another way, whereas the consumer was paying $6.01 more for groceries, the farmer received $0.86 less and the middleman received $6.87 more,” stated the study’s executive summary.
Consumers spent less money on grain products and more on meat and alternatives this year, reflecting commodity trends.
The farmers’ share for fruits and vegetables dropped from 29 to 25 percent and from 28 to 22 percent for meat and alternatives.
The farmers’ share went up to five from four percent for grain products and to 53 from 47 percent for milk and alternatives.
Overall, the share dropped to 26 percent from 27, or $49.75 of the weekly food bill.
APAS president Greg Marshall said he wasn’t surprised at the data.
“It’s a very obvious concern,” he said. “It appears that the processors and retailers are grabbing a larger percentage.”
Marshall believes most consumers would like to see farmers receive more and stay in business.
He said a study like this is useful when approaching government and asking for support.
In particular, the fact that consumers are paying more for meat while producers are going broke illustrates the need for something to change.
“We no doubt will see a reduction in domestic production,” Marshall said, and that could push the retail meat price even higher.
The study was based on daily menus using Canada’s Food Guide for a family of two parents, a teenage female and a child aged four to eight.
Where possible, it used food produced in Canada. The food was purchased June 2, 2009 at Canada Safeway.
Farm prices used in the calculations were from mid-April to mid-June.
