(OTTAWA) The president and CEO of Walmart Canada says the retail giant is not trying to cash in on soaring food inflation.

Gonzalo Gebara spoke Monday evening before a parliamentary committee examining food inflation, saying that Walmart Canada’s gross profit rate for its food business fell last year, as did its profit. total business operations in dollars.

His comments before the committee followed a much-anticipated appearance by executives of Canada’s three largest grocery chains on March 8.

The CEOs and presidents of Loblaw, Metro and Empire told the committee that food inflation is not driven by profit motives and insisted that their food margins have remained low.

Federal politicians have called for more transparency from the food retail industry as food price inflation has far exceeded headline inflation.

Mr. Gebara also told the committee that the past two years have presented a perfect storm of external factors that have driven up food prices.

Grocery prices rose 10.6% in February from a year ago, while headline inflation was 5.2%.