Useful despite inflation

MEXICO CITY (EFE).— Families and merchants in Mexico are beating the inflation of school supplies despite the inflation rates that the country has registered in the last year, they say in preparation for the school year that starts this Monday, when 24 million students return to classes.

“This year there is a saturation of many brands, which has made all prices drop considerably. Now there are many new brands that are invading the market and the competition to win this market has made prices drop,” explained Edgar Jiménez, owner of a wholesale stationery store in Mexico City.

In July, Mexico recorded its highest inflation in 14 months, at 5.57%, with education as the third most expensive sector (6.37%).

But the seller sees a discount of between 20% and 30% compared to the previous school year thanks to competition.

However, according to Jiménez, this has not translated into an increase in sales for the sector, where many brands of Chinese origin have entered, causing much more product to enter the market and causing customers with a supply list and “no knowledge” to opt for the cheapest price instead of quality.

Cris, a mother carrying a shopping bag of school supplies for her daughter, says she has not seen much difference in prices from one year to the next, but they have increased compared to the previous month.

“I came about a month ago and they have gone up by 40 or 50 pesos (between 2 and 2.5 dollars) this year,” said the mother, who acknowledged that coming at this time, just before the opening of the school year, always means an increase in the cost of products.

Carlos Sánchez, owner of a 10-year-old stationery store on Mesones Street in downtown Mexico City, says that sales are “going well,” confirms that prices have remained stable, and refers to the use of the scholarship offered by the capital government to public school users.

Economy Scarcity

Some voices commented that school supplies were more expensive than last year.

Materials through the roof

Not all the voices consulted by this media agreed with the above, as is the case of Elsa, who goes to buy materials for her two children. “They have gone up a little, not much, about 5 or 10 pesos (between 25 and 50 cents of a dollar),” says the mother, who affirms that this will make her not buy extras, but only what is strictly necessary.

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