Tomato was the vegetable that experienced the greatest reduction in price, decreasing by 34.7%. However, other vegetables increased their prices significantly: pumpkin with an increase of 87.6%, lettuce with an increase of 70.5%, onion with an increase of 29.1%, potatoes with 17% and the sweet potato with an increase of 12.8%.
In the month of December, the segment of Vegetables, Tubers and Legumes(VTL) of consumer’s price index (IPC) in the Central Market of Buenos Aires (MCBA) reflected a weighted average increase of 5%. This increase was reflected in the analysis by product, where a variety of significant changes in prices were evident.
Tomato was the vegetable that experienced the greatest reduction in price, decreasing by 34.7%. However, other vegetables increased their prices significantly: pumpkin with an increase of 87.6%, lettuce with an increase of 70.5%, onion with an increase of 29.1%, potatoes with 17% and sweet potatoes with an increase of 12.8%.
As a whole, this segment showed a 5% increase in its weighted prices, with a marked year-on-year upward variation compared to December of the previous year, reaching 174.1%, exceeding the year-on-year inflation index for November, which stood at 160. .9%. It was highlighted that potatoes and sweet potatoes were the species with the greatest interannual variation, approaching 300%. The information is derived from monitoring the main prices of vegetables and fruits in the month of December 2023 carried out by the Center for Argentine Political Economy (CEPA).
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Over the years, it has been observed that the fluctuations in MCBA wholesale prices have a similar behavior to the retail prices compiled by INDEC. The linear regression between both series shows a high degree of correlation, with an R2 of 0.9966, indicating a close relationship between wholesale and retail prices.
Vegetables and fruits have a significant weight in the consumption basket of Argentines. The incidence of vegetables in the CPI-INDEC is 2.2% in the Greater Buenos Aires region and up to 3.6% in the northeast and northwest regions of the countrys. On the other hand, the incidence of fruits is 1.3% in the Greater Buenos Aires region and 1.5% in the northeast and northwest regions.
The IPC-INDEC includes the Vegetables, Tubers and Legumes (VTL) and Fruits segments within the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages division. The VTL segment covers six vegetables: sweet potato, onion, lettuce, potato, tomato, squash, as well as canned tomatoes and soaked peas.
In this report, a sample of the species included in VTL is considered, which together represent 75.3% of the marketing volume of the Central Market of Buenos Aires (MCBA): potato (38%), tomato (13%), pumpkin ( 7%), onion (13%), lettuce (3%) and sweet potato (1.3%).
On the other hand, the species that make up the fruit segment are: banana, lemon, apple and orange, representing 55.0% of the volume sold: orange (18%), banana (16%), apple (13%) and lemon (8%).
Source: Ambito
