Food prices continue to drive, far, inflation. With an average increase of 6.6% in February, the prices of food increased by 9.8%with an outstanding 10.2% in the Capital and GBA (Conurbano) and 10.6% in the Cuyo Region and NOA.
Due to the higher incidence of food in poorer regions, the average inflation rate of 6.6% rises to 7.3% in the NOA and 7.8% in the NEA.
With an average of 21.1% meat and 17.5% fruitand sharp increases in other staples such as flour (7.6%) and rice (14.6%), food inflation dominates price record.
All these data show that careful prices or fair prices have no relevance in measuring the INDEC, nor in household spending. And they expect a sharp rise in the value of the basket of indigence and poverty that the agency will report in the next few days
“The prices surveyed that fall within the agreement programs between the State and companies for February represent 3.17% of the total prices in GBA (Capital and Conurbano)”, clarifies INDEC.
AS, fair prices or assistance have minimal impact on the family budgetwith the aggravating circumstance that they do not reach neighboring businesses, where the majority of families with fewer resources and more vulnerable make their purchases, and in large supermarkets the offer of these products is scarce, irregular or insufficient.
Furthermore, the Institute of Statistics recalls that “every month an approximate number of 320,000 prices are observed at collection points. The survey is carried out every working day of the month and concerns traditional businesses in various sectors (greengrocers, butchers, bakeries , etc.), supermarkets and hypermarkets, service providers, schools and families of tenants selected on the basis of expenditure based on the type of activity of the 2004/05 Household Survey and subsequent adjustments and corrections”.
In the structure of family expenses, which INDEC lightens to calculate the Consumer Price Index, the fruit and vegetables – which are outside the Fair Prices – and the rest of the prices of food and items for the cleaning or household and many others that operate outside the agreements with the state and all services regulated or not by the state – which are not even in the official program – which have the particularity of increasing above average inflation.
These data anticipate it the values of the baskets of indigence and poverty for February, which will be announced in the next few days, will be close to 2 digitsdemonstrating that current inflation hits the fixed income and low income sectors hardest.
As a result, although the government has granted bonuses to the most vulnerable sectors, these income increases are offset by the speed of food price increases, which heralds a new increase in measures of destitution and poverty.
NS
Source: Clarin
