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Cost of groceries may go up as gas prices increase

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – We’ve been warning you for the past couple of weeks the price of gas is going to continue going up — likely to hit record levels sometime this year. If you thought that was the only drain on your wallet, you would be wrong.

The trickledown effect means the price of your groceries could also soon go up.

“Ninety per cent of all goods you see around you came on, one part of their journey, to your home or place of business on the back of a truck,” explains Dave Earle with the BC Trucking Association. “As these costs increase, it gets passed on through all aspects of supply at the supply chain right up to the point you go to buy your bananas from your local grocery store.”

Earle says you probably won’t notice a big spike right away. He points out there will be small incremental changes. “[It’ll] be all the way through the system and it builds and it builds. It’s unlikely that consumers are going to notice a direct correlation in the increase and the price of a discreet good immediately, but these price increases get built in over time.”

He adds this drivers aren’t immune either and they’re trying to cut down on costs. “Members are actively engaged, working and trying to look at and access new technologies at all times to improve efficiency. Keep in mind as much as they want to improve efficiency for the sake of cost, they’re also improving efficiency because the less fuel we burn, the less greenhouse gases we emit.”

Gas McTeague with GasBuddy.com says this spike at the pump could cost the average BC family, buying 60 litres a week of regular, up to $500 extra a year.

He adds we could see a 5 cent to 10 cent jump at the pump around April 1st when the carbon tax is introduced and a couple of nearby refineries undergo major maintenance.

Remember, BC drivers pay some of the highest gas taxes across the entire country.

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