Prices: potatoes, one of the most consumed foods, are sold for up to 400 pesos per kilo

According to the consumer price index (CPI) of the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec), in total throughout the year 2022 the price increase reached an average of 94.8 percent.

Among the items that came closest to this average value were food and non-alcoholic beverages, which registered a rise of more than 95 percent.

In Córdoba, the rise in a specific highly consumed vegetable that today reaches 400 pesos in some shops in some shops is striking: the potato.

Although at the end of December in the price survey carried out by The voiceThere was already a range of potato prices that was close to that figure, today it is a reality in various businesses.

In one of the main markets of the city, the Mercado Norte, the cost is still around 250 pesos, but in most of the big supermarkets it is between 300 and 400 pesos. In this sense, a price dispersion is registered in this particular product.

Some neighborhood shops have potatoes still below the price of supermarkets. And they seek to drive the purchase with promotions such as 2 kilos for 450 pesos, a price that is also well above what was offered weeks ago.

The causes

According to Leo Luna, manager of the Mercado Norte greengrocery in the city of Córdoba, the increase in the vegetable and fruit sector is due to the fact that many of the producers are on vacation this month and that causes production to decrease in quantity.

In turn, the merchant indicates that a large part of the production is being destined for export, which also influences the remaining quantity for Córdoba and impacts the final price.

Despite these seasonal causes, the increase in potato prices is not new. In a note published by Infobae in October of last year, Freddy García, president of the Rural Potato Corporation, already warned of the rise in potato prices for this year.

“2023 is going to be more chaotic because between 20 percent and 30 percent of the producers are going to stop planting potatoes, because it is not profitable for them,” García explained to the newspaper Infobae.

At that time, the increase in the cost of fertilizers used by 80 percent of agricultural producers for planting was added to the phenomenon as another cause.

The increase also had an impact on fruits

From the North Market of the Capital they warn that a rise has been taking place that has an impact on the rest of the fruits in the market. The increase figure is 90 percent for the last few weeks.

Thus, one of the most consumed, the banana, costs 300 pesos and the orange and pear cost 350 pesos and remain the cheapest fruits on the gondolas.

At the other extreme, the apple appears, whose cost is prohibitive for consumers with a total of 800 pesos per kilo. Peaches, a seasonal fruit, are in the same range, with a wide dispersion of qualities and prices.