Impact of plumetting Canadian dollar being felt at the dinner table

“They telephone maine the Godfather of produce,” says Mike Soufan, proprietor of Freestone Produce successful Calgary.

But it’s getting much and much costly for Soufan to reap the fruits of his labour.

Freestone Produce, similar different Canadian importers, is feeling the pinch of a plummeting Canadian dollar.

Soufan says it making imported fruits and vegetables, galore of them from the U.S., a batch much expensive.

“It’s making it precise hard for our pricing, it’s making it hard to beryllium competitive,” says Soufan.

On Thursday, the Canadian dollar was trading astatine conscionable implicit 71 cents U.S. oregon astir $1.40 Cdn. for each American dollar.

Darren Cooper, Senior Investment Advisor with the Baun Pate Investment Group says determination are respective factors successful the dollar’s diminution to what is present its lowest complaint successful much than 4 years.

“We person Canada that is lacking competitiveness successful our economical footing – the U.S. is beardown – it keeps exceeding expectations – meantime Canada’s unemployment complaint keeps going up,” says Cooper.

“At the aforesaid clip we’ve got our main exports, which is commodities – crude lipid being a large portion of Canada’s system – dropping – truthful our economical output continues to fall,” adds Cooper.

He says the Bank of Canada has besides been cutting involvement rates overmuch much aggressively than the U.S. Federal Reserve, and that’s prompting investors to put their wealth successful the U.S. wherever they volition get a greater return.

The proprietor of Freestone Produce says he’s trying to sorb astir of the caller terms increases by keeping his expenses and user prices down.

Pointing to a ample bundle of blueberries, Mike Soufan says helium utilized to marque $3.00 to $5.00 per bundle sold, but present helium lone makes 95 cents.

Soufan says the accrued outgo of galore imported fruits and vegetables means for immoderate consumers, things similar strawberries are rapidly becoming a luxury item.