The country is paying the bill for a lifestyle that predators natural resources, since the drought – which extends across two-thirds of the national territory – has caused an increase in the cost of fruits, vegetables, meats, and even processed foods, experts indicated. .
Cuauhtémoc Rivera, president of the National Alliance of Small Merchants (Anpec), assured in an interview that not only the dry season is affecting the increase in prices, but also the insecurity that exists in the national territory and the logistics that have not been was able to consolidate in some chains in the post-pandemic.
He commented that the basic basket stood at 1,858.58 pesos in May, a level that observed a monthly variation of 1.51 percent or an increase of 27.71 pesos.
The products that have become most expensive are avocado, which went from an average of 59.52 pesos to 70.18; the orange, from 26.30 to 28.74, and the carrot, from 17.70 to 18.43 pesos.
Juan Carlos Anaya, general director of the Agricultural Market Consulting Group (GCMA), pointed out that the increase in prices is explained by the drought and seasonality, although he highlighted that only cilantro has become scarce and its cost has increased.
Data collected by the consultancy show that in the Central de Abasto of Mexico City in the first week of June cauliflower once again observed an increase, which was 35 percent, as it went from 17 to 23 pesos per piece, as a consequence of the extreme weather conditions and hailstorms in Puebla, the main supplier of this vegetable.
Other foods that have become more expensive are cucumber with 77 percent or 4.8 pesos, romanita lettuce with 51 percent or 4.6 pesos, Italian zucchini 63 percent or 4.25 pesos and nopal with 100 percent.
The Tabasco banana became more expensive by 49 percent, reaching 16.5 pesos per kilo. Valencia oranges increased 19 percent, 3.5 pesos; medium pineapple, 18 percent or 3.5 pesos; strawberries, 7 percent or 2 pesos, and grapefruit, 10 percent or 1.7 pesos.
“This drought, the effect of The boy y The girl“This whole issue of climate change, we are paying the bill for a bad lifestyle, a predatory lifestyle that does not respect the environment or nature,” said Rivera after recognizing that the dry season that has prolonged has stressed the country’s agricultural and livestock activity and to some extent has also hit fishing
.
He commented that the lack of water has affected agricultural production, since not only is it scarce, but the product is not of the best quality.
The drought is hitting, it is increasingly a leading issue and insecurity is a constant.
Consumer habits changed: experts
Data from GCMA indicate that in the case of oranges the supply has not been very wide and has been made up only of good quality fruit provided by citrus growers from Tamaulipas and Nuevo León, while for seedless lemons from Veracruz the quality was average. , since the product of smaller calibers predominated.
Rivera added that the drought has also had an impact on livestock farming, since animals need pasture to fatten, while industries such as sausages, just to mention a few, have problems due to water scarcity.
However, the president of Anpec commented that factors such as insecurity have systematically hit
in inflation, since it is an element that it’s under the rug
and it is one of the reasons why inflation remains at 4.69 percent until May.
Furthermore, in the post-pandemic, consumption habits changed, but logistics have not been able to consolidate and supply chains are trying to respond to the new circumstances of demand.
“We need it to rain, to rain well and for that water to go to the basins that store the liquid.
It goes without saying that for every 10 liters that pass through the country’s pipes, at least 4 to 5 liters are lost, that is, it is urgent that the branches that supply water to homes and human consumption be modernized.
he pointed.
He warned that the consumption situation could worsen with the heat wave, as the most intense heat season in the summer is known, because although the demand for beverages intensified with the heat waves in spring, the ANPEC predicts that the industry will increase the prices of the products.