'It's all caught up to us now': Low Canadian dollar hits locally owned grocery store

The Canadian dollar is at its lowest level since May 2020, with $1 CAD converting to $0.71 U.S.

That means purchasing produce from the states is more expensive for Alfonso Curcio, the owner of Farmer’s Pick in Ottawa.

“We're feeling it now because all the local stuff's all done, and we switched over to almost entirely U.S.,” Curcio tells CTV News Ottawa.

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Around this time of year, Farmer’s Pick always starts importing their fruits and veggies from the U.S. as the weather gets colder and local farms aren’t able to grow produce.

Curcio says he had to pay $87 CAD for 24 heads of lettuce on Monday morning, but they’re selling those heads for $4.99, which doesn’t cover their margins.

“It's all caught up to us now,” he explains.

“People don't realize the exchange is on when we buy the product, that it's on the freight, it just gets all added on. So, by the time the customer sees it or we see it, it's a large increase."

Curcio says his store won’t sell the heads of lettuce for more than $5 out of fear of losing business as a smaller grocery store, because a $7 or $8 price tag would drive customers away, even though that would cover their margins.

Heads of lettuce are just an example, but Curcio says most of the produce at Farmer’s Pick is impacted.

“You walked in a couple of weeks ago, lettuce was $1.99. Now it's like $3.99. Same thing with the broccoli, the celery, all the way down the line,” Curcio says.

As the owner of a small business, Curcio is forced to balance the appeal for customers to shop at Farmers Pick with trying to turn a profit.

“You almost just see double compared to what it was a month ago when we're pulling from local farmers.”

As for the reason why the Canadian dollar is as weak as it's been, experts suggest the recent interest rate cuts from the Bank of Canada are to blame.

Typically, the Bank of Canada and the U.S. Federal Reserve will increase and decrease their rates around the same time, but that hasn't been the case recently.

"When the Bank of Canada started cutting interest rates, it was months before the U.S. started cutting their interest rates," said Moshe Lander, a senior lecturer of economics at Concordia University.

"But because the Bank of Canada moved before, and well before the Fed, then this has put downward pressure on our dollar."

The fall of the loonie also means travelling to the U.S. will be more expensive for Canadians.

As of Monday afternoon, taking out $1,000 U.S. for a trip would cost $1,428.50 CAD, according to Calforex Currency Exchange.

That's too much for Brockville, Ont. resident Dawn Nadeau and her husband Pierre, who travel south of the border at least once a year. She said they won't be in 2024 because of the prices.

"We quite often go to the Finger Lakes for a couple of weeks. Hotels are ridiculous now," she said.

"I don't like just giving my money away."

According to Goliger's TravelPlus, a travel agency in Brockville, avoiding travelling to the U.S. has been a trend for the past few years for their clients.

"Since Covid, we've seen our numbers drop for the U.S.," said owner Debbie Wykes.

"We are seeing our retirees that have traditionally gone to Florida, now they're looking to go to Europe."

With files from CTV’s Dave Charbonneau