Nearly three-quarters of businesses in Canada expect cost-related obstacles

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Canada's statistical agency revealed on Monday that nearly three-quarters, or 73.6%, of all businesses in the country anticipate encountering cost-related challenges in the next three months.

The leading obstacle is high inflation, as more than half, or 55.4% of all businesses expect it to be a challenge, according to Statistics Canada's Survey on Business Conditions for first quarter of 2024.

The sectors that are most likely to expect challenges related to rising inflation are businesses in accommodation and food services with 74.6%, transportation and warehousing at 62.2%, and agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting with 61.8%.

The second most commonly expected obstacle is rising cost of inputs with 43.7%, which includes labor, capital, energy and raw materials.

In addition, 41% of businesses expect rising interest rates and debt costs to be an issue over the next three months, according to the survey.