The 10th annual Food Price Report predicts another jump in the cost of food next year.
Researchers at the University of Guelph and Dalhousie University crunched the numbers and looked at economic trends. Their report forecasts the average Canadian family will pay about $12,667 in 2020, or another $487 more than in 2019.
The report looks at food in eight categories, including the cost of eating out. Restaurants will cost families another two to four per cent more.
Your budget for seafood and vegetables will see similar increases, while the cost of fruit will go up between 1.5 and 3.5 per cent. Meat is expected to rise four to six per cent.
The researchers do not anticipate prices to fall in any of the categories.
The report blames continued trade uncertainty between the U.S. and China, along with the new agreement between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. Canada and the U.S. have not ratified USMCA.
"The elephant in the room [for 2020] is climate change and its impact on our food systems," read the report. "Canadian food systems will be affected by changing weather patterns, including droughts and forest fires, heavy precipitation, reduced freshwater access, and rising sea levels."
The report's authors said their 2019 edition was 99.8 per cent accurate. It said the average family would pay $411 more than they did in 2018 for a total of $12,157. It was off by just $23.
