Meat prices highest in Atlantic Canada, new data says

The cost of grilling in the Maritimes is higher than anywhere else in Canada.

Atlantic Canada has the highest meat prices compared to the rest of the country, according to new data from Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Lab.

“Food inflation has always been a problem for our region and meat counter economics are absolutely pointing to that problem right now for sure,” says their director Sylvain Charlebois.

“When you look at meat prices across the country, you can see that the Atlantic region is heavily penalized. Other than beef, we were number one.”

Figures show the Atlantic region has the highest average priced chicken at $18.96 per kg and pork at $13.00 kg.

Charlebois says the cause is likely a slow in transportation and production.

“They’re not meeting their quotas, and that’s really pushing prices higher,” he says.

As a result, more Maritime shoppers are settling for cheaper proteins.

“I love meat but because of the prices, I wouldn’t buy meat in the Superstore, so I bought fish instead of meat,” says one Halifax shopper. “I prefer to travel all the way to Dartmouth to get my meat.”

It’s caused a bit of a stir for local meat shops who offer quality but can’t always compete with cost.

“The going rate for beef has steadily been increasing over the last few years, but it is especially bad right now. But we’ve done everything we can to keep our prices as consistent as we can,” says Tyler Harland, operations manager for Osprey’s Roost Butchery in Halifax.

“Our sales have stayed fairly consistent. There could be a combination of people shifting to lower quality, but then also some people shifting to better quality but less of it, or diversifying.”

Charlebois says people can expect to see more promotions and ticketed items ahead of Canada Day and throughout the summer.

“If you’re on a lookout and if you show up at the grocery store on say a Monday or Wednesday for example, early in the morning, you’re likely going to see more deals,” he says.

“Over the next two, three months, we are expecting pork prices to stabilize. Beef is still unknown. We’re still expecting higher prices, if you can believe it. As for chicken, we are expecting modest increases over the next several months due to supply issues. We are expecting prices to stabilize for poultry by the time we get to the fall.”