John Ivison: Canada avoided a COVID-19 food shortage, but the shockwaves aren’t over yet

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It is a timely reminder that, for all our sophistication, all that lies between us and ruin is six inches of topsoil and a farmer

One of the few pleasant surprises to have emerged from the pandemic is that predictions of food shortages have proven overblown so far.

Even if domestic production slips, we can always import our way out of the problem, said Sylvain Charlebois, director of agri-food analytics at Dalhousie University, pointing out that the loonie has mounted a comeback after falling 8 per cent in the first two weeks of March. The potential for disaster was apparent even before the coronavirus struck. Food prices were the biggest concern for Canadians, pre-COVID — ahead of debt, the economy and health — according to Nielsen Global Connect. One quarter of Canadians had said they could afford only the essentials and 18 per cent said they had no spare cash.

Prices reflected this shift. The cost of a tin of baked beans rose 19 per cent between December and May, bathroom tissue by 12 per cent and canned soup by 12 per cent. In contrast, the price of apples, oranges and onions actually fell. Food inflation in April increased by 3.4 per cent, but the panicked buying of mid-March has since eased, as it has become clear that food supply chains are resilient.

 

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Looks like we got milked by the ag lobby good that time

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