Good afternoon, everyone.
Mr. Chair, members of the committee, and Mr. Lemaire, as president of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, or CPMA, I am well aware of the scope of the problems affecting the supply chain.
As a Canadian wholesaler, importer and exporter operating out of Montreal, I face these challenges every day. While international shipping companies send many empty containers back to Asia and report record profits, the availability and cost of containers have become huge obstacles for Canadian importers and exporters.
Over the past two years, the cost of shipping goods by truck has also increased by 50‑80%, both at the border and domestically.
Here are some examples I can give to the committee members, based on my own experience at Courchesne Larose. Between May and December 2021, for a volume of at least 400 trucks per week, we experienced an increase of over $250,000 per week in transport costs. Since January, the increase in fuel prices alone has added more than $200,000 to these costs.
The just-in-time management and production method, which has taken more than 10 years to develop and implement in the industry, is being challenged by logistical problems, a labour shortage and numerous delays. This also explains why consumers are faced with frequent stock outs.
There are also significant delays in loading and unloading at seaports, making it difficult to manage our integrated supply chain. Naturally, these issues all have an impact on the average price of fresh fruit and vegetables, which has risen by at least 16% in the last year alone. It is important to understand that, despite our best efforts to avoid price increases, we cannot control many of the factors related to the various stages of the supply chain.
Most of these price fluctuations are reflected in the price that the consumer pays, as we have seen with the figures on food price inflation. I want to reiterate that these problems cannot be solved by a single department or in isolation.
The Canadian Produce Marketing Association thanks you for the opportunity to participate in the National Supply Chain Summit last January. It is imperative that such interdepartmental initiatives continue.
We thank you for the opportunity to speak to the committee today, and we look forward to answering your questions, which we hope will be many.