Before the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC) releases the March inflation data, a CEPA report provides insight into the price dynamics of fruits and vegetables in Argentina's central market. This report covers a significant portion of the market, including 75.3% of vegetables, tubers, and legumes like potatoes, tomatoes, squash, onions, lettuce, and sweet potatoes, and 55% of the main fruits sold, namely bananas, lemons, apples, and oranges.
The analysis highlighted a 26.4% increase in the prices of the six most popular vegetables, contributing 2.2% to the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages division of the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This change could potentially add 0.57 percentage points to the March CPI. In contrast, the top four fruits experienced a 6.3% rise in prices, with an estimated 6.9% overall increase for fruits, potentially causing a 0.09-point increase in the CPI.
The report also delves into specific price changes, noting a significant 86.6% increase in tomato prices and a record 487.8% inter-annual increase in onion prices, attributed to exports and climatic events. Conversely, sweet potatoes saw a 2.6% price drop. Among fruits, oranges saw a 34.1% price increase, while lemons experienced a 23.7% decrease, with seasonal factors and international competition affecting prices.
Price dispersion among supermarkets was another focus, with tomatoes showing the highest variance. The study concluded that the price gap between the central market and supermarkets widened to 167.4% in March, with tomatoes presenting the largest difference.
Source: newsrebeat.com