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Due to escalating uncertainties in the Middle East, the surge in fuel prices has prompted some Canadian food suppliers to tack on fuel surcharges to their deliveries to offset rising expenses.
Recent documents obtained by CBC News reveal that four suppliers, including Sunrise Farms, CTS Foods, Maple Leaf, and Tree of Life, are implementing these extra charges. The Globe and Mail first reported the additional fees from Tree of Life and Maple Leaf.
For many grocery store owners, especially those running smaller businesses, the decision to pass on some of these added costs to consumers is under consideration.
Sunrise Farms notified buyers in a letter that they would introduce a temporary five-cent-per-kilogram fuel cost adjustment and a $10 fuel surcharge effective April 13. The per-kilogram rate will be revised bi-weekly based on evolving “fuel market conditions,” as outlined in the letter.
Maple Leaf’s correspondence indicated an 11-cent-per-kilogram fuel surcharge for shipments of all prepared meat and fresh poultry starting April 6. The meat supplier’s letter stated that the surcharge would be reviewed weekly and was a temporary response to the sharp uptick in oil prices following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil passes through the critical waterway, which has become a focal point in the Middle East conflict that began in February with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.
CTS Foods and Tree of Life also announced temporary $10 fuel surcharges per delivery, with Tree of Life specifying that their charge would be rescinded once diesel prices return to a “rolling three-month average” of $1.20 per liter or lower.
