Grocery executives are disputing an accusation that grocery giants are taking advantage of inflation to drive up their own profits.
Executives from Loblaw and Empire testified at the House of Commons agriculture committee Monday as part of its study of food inflation.
“Empire does not like inflation,” said Pierre St-Laurent, chief operating officer of Empire, the parent company of Sobeys.
Jodat Hussain, Loblaw’s senior vice-president of retail finance, told MPs Loblaw has been raising prices because suppliers are charging more, and that the company’s gross margins on food have remained stable.
However, Hussain said Loblaw, which sells products other than food, does not publicly disclose its margins on food alone….