(Bloomberg) -- Baked beans and tinned spaghetti are among about 100 Australian staple food items that are expected to be hit by price rises of as much as 20%, Robert Giles, the chief executive of canned good producer SPC, said in an interview with the Australian Financial Review.
Giles told the paper that the company “had no choice” but to raise consumer prices to mitigate higher input costs, or potentially face going out of business.
Surging prices for fuel, wheat and packaging -- including cans -- are among the company’s price pressures, he said.
The cost of living for Australians has come under increasing attention as inflation stalks the global economic recovery. The topic is likely to feature strongly in the run-up to a national election that’s set to occur before the end of May. On the weekend, the government said it would focus on households under strain in its upcoming federal budget, due later this month.
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Global prices for everything from bread to gasoline have jumped, with the world economy shackled by ongoing Covid-related logistical hurdles and labor shortages. Meanwhile, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has added to the challenging environment, sending shock waves through commodity markets -- threatening the global food system at a time when prices are at all-time highs, with a benchmark UN index soaring more than 40% during the past two years.
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