La Jornada: More inflation is recorded in loncherías than in restaurants: BdeM

The increase in prices in Mexico changes depending on whether the diner goes to a restaurant, a similar restaurant (cafeteria or cantina) or a lonchería, fonda, tortería and taquería, and in the latter, inflation is higher.

According to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), inflation in restaurants and the like was 6.10 percent annually during the first half of May, its first annual moderation in three readings. Meanwhile, restaurants presented an annual increase of 6.05 percent; the cantinas, 3.57 percent, which was their third slowdown in a row. Cafeterias registered a variation of 7.10 percent.

On the other hand, the line of lonchería, inn, tortería and taquerias presented an annual inflation of 8.74 percent in the period, and it was its highest variation since the second half of November 2025, in addition to being double the price increase at the national level, located at 4.11.

Omar Mejía, deputy governor of the Bank of Mexico (BdeM), maintained that the rise in food services has shown greater persistence and may be associated with two shocks: that of livestock and that of fruits and vegetables.

When carrying out an analysis, the monetary authority maintained that restaurants and similar and lunch shops have high inflations, but different among them, and that is because restaurants and similar can adapt their menu and play with some margins to reduce costs.

In other types of food services, with a lower variety menu, they are loncherías, torterías, fondas and taquerias, there they have a limited menu, Mejía described in the 15th Stations Forum.

“A taqueria that serves steak is going to have to pass on the entire cost (increase in meat) to the consumer because otherwise it would practically have to close the business. The dynamics that we are seeing in the livestock cycle are going to begin to have decreases; that is, it is most likely that this price dynamic will also decrease in the case of services,” commented the deputy governor.

Meanwhile, tacos and cakes are becoming more expensive. Beef steak reported an inflation of 6.47 percent, while tomato, serrano peppers, onion, basic for making a sauce, showed annual increases of 118.47, 46.57 and 14.47 percent, respectively in the first half of May.

During April, tomatoes, with an annual increase of 121.1 percent, and foods and beverages consumed outside the home, 6.8 percent, in that order, were the ones that contributed the most to the annual increase in the monetary value of the food basket, according to Inegi data.