As global instability continues to push fuel prices higher, Canadians are once again hearing warnings about rising food prices.

And as that conversation starts again, it’s important to understand something clearly: when food prices rise, that does not mean farmers are making more money. In many cases, the opposite is true.

Fruit and vegetable growers are among the first to feel the impact of rising fuel costs because modern food production depends heavily on energy. Diesel powers tractors, irrigation systems, refrigeration, and transportation. Fertilizer production is energy intensive. Packaging, shipping, and distribution all become more expensive when fuel prices surge.

Right now, diesel prices have climbed dramatically – up 53 per cent year over year according to comparisons by our team at the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association (OFVGA) – while fertilizer costs are up 20 to 30 per cent year over year. 

Those increases hit growers immediately, often long before food even reaches a grocery store shelf.

Fresh produce farming already comes with significant uncertainty. Most of our crops are grown outdoors and are subject to weather, drought, disease and increasingly unpredictable growing conditions. Labour challenges and a complex regulatory environment are also ongoing hurdles for our sector, including for those businesses who grow their crops indoors, such as greenhouses. 

Unlike many industries, farmers cannot simply pause production or quickly adjust prices to offset unexpected costs. 

At the same time, growers are facing increasing pressure from how food is being purchased throughout the supply chain. We’re seeing purchasing practices shifting more and more financial risk onto farmers through additional fees, longer payment timelines, and contracts that require growers to commit to pricing long before they know what their costs for fuel, fertilizer, labour or transportation will be — or what kind of growing season lies ahead. 

It’s a reality that growers are increasingly facing, and the result is a dangerous stacking of pressure at the farm level that also includes weather risk, supply chain volatility, and additional financial pressures – all while margins remain extremely tight.

Meanwhile, consumers understandably see food prices rising and assume farmers must be benefitting. Unfortunately, we work in a global marketplace; if our costs are too high, buyers will import what they need from lower-cost jurisdictions. 

The share of the food dollar that returns to the farm remains relatively small, especially in fresh produce. That’s why this conversation matters beyond agriculture.

This is not simply about farm profitability. It is about Canada’s ability to continue producing food at home.

When domestic growers face mounting pressure and increasing uncertainty, production becomes more difficult and riskier. Over time, that means greater reliance on imported food and multinational supply chains at exactly the moment Canadians are becoming more concerned about affordability, availability, resilience and geopolitical pressures.

It can also mean a higher carbon footprint, for example, and very limited contributions back to our own economy.

To put it simply, food security starts at the farm.

If we want affordable, reliable access to fresh food in Canada, we need a system where risk and reward are shared more fairly across the supply chain. Farmers cannot continue to be expected to absorb every new cost increase and every new layer of uncertainty alone.

No growers means no homegrown fruits and vegetables. The spin-off effect will be much larger, though, also impacting the sectors from suppliers to transportation and more all across the economy. 

Ontario fruit and vegetable growers are proud to produce safe, high-quality food for Canadians. But if we want domestic food production to remain strong in the years ahead, we need to recognize that farmers are not driving food inflation — they are just expected to absorb it.