Consumers, shopkeepers feel the pinch as inflation hits 4.1%

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If they’ve noticed two things at St. Lawrence Market over the course of the pandemic, it’s that crowds are thinner and prices are much higher.

“Prices have gone up considerably, but we have no choice but to keep going,” said Mario Aricci, owner of Ponesse Foods, which specializes in fresh produce.

“We have to swallow your pride. Take less money to keep the business going.”

With inflation surging to 4.1% — an 18-year high in August — Aricci said he cannot remember being so squeezed as a merchant while trying to supply his shop while keeping customers happy.

“We need to kind of suck up the profits. It’s a matter of survival,” said Aricci, who has been operating his shop for 36 years.

Passing along all price hikes, he added, would be damaging to his business.

“That’s easier said than done because the marketplace is so competitive. If you overprice your product, you will lose market share.”

George Vasiliades has managed the St. Lawrence Fish Market for 20 years.

“On certain items, prices have just gone through the roof,” he said.

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Things have become so bad, he said, some products are no longer worth carrying because he cannot recover the cost of supplying them.

“We used to sell jumbo scallops. Now our costs on most jumbo scallops would be about 25%  more than what we were selling it for.”

“I’ve noticed prices are considerably higher,” added Ken Watson, who was out shopping for cheese and potatoes.

“Over the last year, it’s been gradual. But what we have seen over the last year is that prices have not only gone up, but the quantities have gone down.”

In a research note, Canada Needs to Tackle Inflation, Derek Holt, Scotiabank vice president and head of capital markets economics, wrote: “Prime responsibility for managing inflation rests with the Bank of Canada, but that doesn’t mean that the broader public policy mixture doesn’t matter.

“The continued heavy spending that is the basis of every political party’s platform suggests that Canada is not taking inflation risk very seriously,” he added.

Shop owners say seriously tight supplies have forced their hands on prices.

“Some customers understand. Some consumers just assume that we did it,” Vasiliades said.

As for changing shopping behaviour due to the current sticker-shock, Watson said: “We may as well face it, it is not going to change. It is going to get worse. The prices aren’t going to go down.”