Grocery and restaurant costs to gobble up your budget next year, study says

GUELPH, Ont. – A new report says the average household in Canada will spend $8,631 on groceries and restaurant meals next year, up by $345 because of food inflation.

The University of Guelph’s latest forecast estimates that food inflation could be between two and four per cent in 2016 — compared with 4.1 per cent this year.

The school’s Food Institute estimates food inflation in 2015 cost the average Canadian household an extra $325 this year.

The Food Institute says a combination of factors are pushing up prices, including the impact of climate change and the high value of the American dollar, which increases the price of imports from the United States.

The latest Statistics Canada data shows overall consumer prices were up one per cent in the 12 months to October, with a decline in fuel prices offsetting increases in most other spending categories.