Increases of up to 14% on Lent products

Lent 2026 began on February 18, Ash Wednesday, with an increase in food prices. According to a study by the National Alliance of Small Merchants (Anpec), the cost of the most consumed products this season increased up to 14 percent compared to the previous year.

The organization’s monitoring indicates that, in supermarkets, a basket of fish and seafood went from 2,906 to 3,313 pesos. In traditional markets the increase was 12 percent, from 2,265 to 2,531 pesos.

Anpec highlighted that there are important variations in the average prices per kilogram of seafood products. Raw shrimp was priced at 325 pesos in the traditional market and 499 in supermarkets; the shoddy shrimp, at 315 and 394, respectively; surimi, 175 and 203; mojarra, 150 and 164; octopus, 310 and 449; salmon, 430 and 546; saw, 200 and 275; red snapper, 300 and 365, and the tuna medallion, at 326 and 418 pesos, respectively.

The lowest prices were observed in markets and supply centers, and the highest in supermarket chains.

Cuauhtémoc Rivera, president of Anpec, pointed out that given the rising cost of seafood, households have begun to replace these products with legumes and vegetables such as lentils, broad beans, and potatoes. “In a period in which millions of people modify their diet for religious reasons, the increase in prices of fish and seafood adds pressure to the domestic economy.”