Shopping in Merida has never been so expensive; these are the top 10 most expensive cities in Mexico

The president of the National Chamber of Small Commerce (Canacope), Jorge Cardeña Licona, blames the high prices of basic food basket products on the inflation that has caused the January cost, considered the highest in the last two decades.

The businessman warned that this price escalation will continue for at least the next six months.

In January, price increases in Mérida reached their highest peak, with inflation at 10.33 percent at annual rate.

The acceleration of inflation in Mexico has placed the city of Merida as the second most expensive city in the country, as on average the price of electricity, eggs, bottled soft drinks, fruits and vegetables increased by 10 percent.

The Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor (Profeco) mentioned in its monthly monitoring that the Central de Abasto de Mérida registered the highest price of the basic food basket in the country, at 1,74.64 pesos.

According to the agency, this price was even more expensive than in stores such as S-Mart, in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, which registered 1,50.48 pesos; H.E.B. in Saltillo, at 1,49.50 pesos, and the Central de Abasto in Monterrey, at 1,42.62 pesos.

Meanwhile, the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics (Inegi) revealed that inflation in the country, in the first fortnight of January, reached 7.94 percent, exceeding both the 7.77 percent recorded in December and economists’ forecasts of 7.86 percent.

The most expensive city in the country is Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, where inflation rose to 10.43 percent; in second place is Merida, with 10.43 percent; followed by Campeche, with 10.29 percent; Tapachula, 10.08 percent; Torreon 9.60 percent, and Acapulco, 9.61 percent.

To evaluate the increase in the cost of the basic food basket, the authorities analyze the prices of around 40 products. Thus, if a family cannot afford all of these products with its income, it is classified as poor.

According to the Coneval 2020 report, in Yucatan there are approximately 734,700 people who have at least one deficiency; however, the percentage of poverty is 1.1 percentage points lower than the national percentage (41.9%).

Products such as corn, beans, rice, sugar, flour, oil, tuna, sardines, milk, instant coffee, salt, oatmeal, soup pasta, lentils, soap and toilet paper, among others, make up the basic food basket.

TYT Newsroom