Baseball-sized head of lettuce seen selling for $5 in the Greater Toronto Area

Grocery prices increased by more than 10 per cent last year in Canada meaning the average family of four had to pay an additional $1,000 for the exact same items.

Prices are expected to go up another five to seven per cent in 2023 and there is one item on your grocery list that has tripled in price – lettuce.

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“Lettuce prices have spiked due to a significant volume of decreases particularly over the month of November," according to Christopher Valadez, the president and CEO of the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California.

Canada imports about a half a billion dollars worth of lettuce from the United States, much of it from California, but growers there have had a perfect storm of disease, cold weather and inflation which has caused lettuce prices to increase dramatically.

California's Salinas Valley has been called the salad bowl of North America and lettuce growers there lost about one third of their crop.

The increases were most noticeable last November when importers said they were paying $150 for a case of lettuce which used to cost them $50.

At the time, Benny Pearl, owner of D. Pearl and Sons Produce in Windsor, said, “It's probably triple the price it should be at this time of the year."

CTV News Toronto spotted a small head of lettuce this week in a grocery store in the Greater Toronto Area, not much bigger than a baseball, selling for $4.99.

A head of lettuce selling for $5 at a grocery store in the Greater Toronto Area is seen in this undated image. (CTV News Toronto/Pat Foran)

Some shoppers we spoke with said they have taken lettuce off their shopping lists until prices come down.

“They are really small and so pricey but what can we do?" asked Raquel, who was grocery shopping in Scarborough.

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Even American rapper Cardi B went on Twitter to vent about the high price of groceries, specifically lettuce.

“Like I go to the supermarket and I see that everything tripled up. Like lettuce was like $2 a couple of months ago and now it’s like (bleeping) $7. Of course I’m going to say something!” exclaimed Cardi B.

Due to the price hikes and shortages, some restaurants have had to switch to kale or spinach to use in their salads.

Despite the high prices, Sylvain Charlebois, a professor of food research at Dalhousie University, said that the supply of lettuce is increasing and prices should start to come down soon.

“Arizona supply is good, as well as in Mexico. California is drying up, that's the problem," said Charlebois.

California growers also said the price for lettuce should be falling soon in most grocery stores.

“The supplies are increasing and prices should be stabilizing and in many cases dropping," said Valadez.

So if you've been putting off having a salad, there may be some relief soon for lettuce prices.

Charlebois said food prices are expected to rise five to seven per cent this year, stopping about half way through the year, however while prices may not continue to increase there is nothing to suggest they will come down either.