Rising prices for commodities such as wheat and pork are expected to impact Sobey's supermarket chain, its owner Empire Co. Ltd. said yesterday after posting a 52-per-cent rise in third-quarter net profit. There is "mounting evidence and pressure and inevitability of cost increases associated with what's [happening]on the global stage in commodities such as wheat and pork," Bill McEwan, president and chief executive officer of Sobey's, the country's second-largest food chain, told a conference call. "It is certain that we will receive from our suppliers significant pressure to accept cost increases. It's inevitable," he said. Empire reported profit of $48.6-million or 74 cents a share in the latest quarter compared with $31.9-million or 48 cents a year ago. EMP.A (TSX) closed up 85 cents at $37.05.