The monthly survey of food prices in the retail market of the city of São Paulo, conducted by the Institute of Agricultural Economics (IEA) in August 2018, showed an increase of 0.35% in family food expenditure compared to the previous month. The indicators of animal and vegetable products showed opposite trajectories in the period: while the variation in animal grouping was negative by 0.29%, plant products increased by 1% in August.
In animal products, the “meats” subgroup had a positive variation of 0.42%, with emphasis on the increase in beef prices. In dairy, the highlight was the fall in the price of long-life milk after three months of high. Eggs continue to fall, and prices are averaging 3.21% lower than July, says Vagner Azarias Martins, an IEA researcher.
In the vegetable part, there was an increase in the expenditure of 1%, in the period, despite the significant reduction of the subgroup “vegetables”, caused by the fall in prices of products such as onion (-18.86%), which has a good supply because of the national harvest. In the grouping of “basic products” is the explanation for the increase in expenditure on vegetable products: French bread, an item of great importance in the basket, had an increase in its average price of 5.74%, and the upward quotation of the dollar is influencing imports of wheat flour and inflating consumer prices.
In the last 12 months, the percentage variation of 55 of the 88 items followed by this study ranged from + 5% to -5%. Considering that inflation in the period was 4.19%, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), it is concluded that there is stability in the prices of most of the food products.
This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.