PepsiCo Beverages Canada announced that at the end of July it raised prices by roughly a penny per can, in response to the increase in the price for aluminum: Canadians should also be prepared to pay more for products such as chocolate, convenience foods and hygienic/toilet articles.
As of July 1st, 2018 the following goods were hit with 10 per cent tariffs entering Canada:
• Yogurt
• Roasted, caffeinated Coffee
• Prepared meals (poultry and beef)
• Maple sugar and maple syrup
• Licorice, candy and toffee
• Chocolate, sweetened and unsweetened, (baking and ready-to-eat)
• Mixed condiments and seasonings
• Soups and broths
• Sweetened water, including mineral water
• Paper products
This is not an exhaustive list, but one that includes most of the products that affect us in the food and beverage industry. While we are trying to find non imported products that can be cost effective, many of the brands that we consumers have grown accustomed to will indeed go up. Is this a time for us to give that collective thought as to making a more conscious buy Canadian effort? I, for one, say yes. I am as guilty as any, of not paying attention to where a product originates. I have been a brand shopper, sometimes for absolutely no reason other than habit. When cost, and effect on the environment, of transport of goods gets considered, I know I can be doing better for myself and for how we live with a little more attention.
As many of you are aware, manufacturers are passing on the cost of aluminum and some luxury goods such as chocolate, to retailers as the result of the U.S.-Canada trade war: Certain items crossing the border will cost ten per cent more.