Inflation makes traditional June holiday foods more expensive

Typical items from arraiá showed an increase of 13.51% in the food and beverage sector, accumulated in 12 months; tomato, sugar, oil and wheat flour are among the most expensive

Chef Ana Carolina Pesaroglo, 39, has been working with meal delivery for six years and has been working in the June festival sector in Curitiba (PR) for five years. After two years of stopping the festivities, she noticed a significant increase in the typical and traditional items of the arraiá. The reason is the rise in food prices, which rose 13.51% in 12 months, according to data from the Broad National Consumer Price Index (HICP) in May.

The cook who creates special kits and corporate events has felt in her pocket the rise of the most used objects for June preparations. “There are things that can’t be missing, such as corn, tomatoes, wheat flour, oil and milk. The cost of the products we offer has significantly increased.” In Brazil, food and drink rose more than the overall HICP index, 11.73%, and made staples for the June festival more expensive.

The protagonist of arraiá, corn, accumulates a maximum of 23.55% in the HICP in 12 months, while wheat flour has a maximum of 27.80% and crystalline sugar with 31.46% higher prices. during the same period. “Some of these items are commodities whose value is linked to international prices, and therefore are affected by changes in the real / dollar exchange rate,” says economist Larissa Naves de Deus, professor of economics at the Federal University of Paraná ( UFPR). ).

In a basket with assorted items and ingredients from the June festival, most have risen in price. The most expensive food was tomato (80.48%), followed by refined sugar (36.28%), soybean oil (33.8%) and cassava (31.26%).

Long-life milk (28.04%), cornmeal (24.67%), apple (24.28%) and margarine (21.47%) also did not escape the increase. The only select that saw a decline in 12 months was rice, which fell 10.8% until May, after skyrocketing during the covid-19 pandemic. Sausages (10.78%) and yeast (8.2%) also increased in price, as well as drinks related to the celebration of St. John, such as wine (4.31%) and beer (7.3%).

Salty prices became a delicate problem for cook Ana Carolina, who had to negotiate and give up part of her earnings. “People have fewer resources too. We pass part of the price on to customers, but we absorb the other part to make the work of returning to the June festivals feasible,” she said. “We had to change the way we shop, opting for promotions, in larger quantities and negotiating with our suppliers.”

Economist Larissa Naves de Deus attributes the price increase to the effects of the pandemic, adverse weather events and political issues, such as the war between Russia and Ukraine, which have impacted global production costs. “Although the Brazilian central bank has raised the interest rate to contain high inflation, it is understood that this is not the tool capable of addressing factors related to supply, production costs and not just aggregate demand”, he said. she stated.

Even as food prices rise, Ana Carolina expects to sell more this year with the return of the traditional celebration in person. “The number of parties already booked is quite high, even in relation to the pre-pandemic year. People are still excited about being together and fraternizing. We have good expectations,” she says.

Source: Terra

Benjamin

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