According to the Price Index at Origin and Destination (IPOD) prepared by the Regional Economies sector of the Argentine Confederation of Medium Enterprises (CAME), in March the prices of agri-food multiplied by 3.4 times those of the field (origin). to the gondola (destination). That is, the consumer paid $3.4 for every $1 the producer received.
On average, the producer’s participation explained 31.3% of the final sales prices. The greatest participation was had by the producers of lettuce (76.6%), while the lowest was for those of zucchini (3.9%).
Agrifood: the gap in fruit and vegetable products and livestock products
IPOD fruit and vegetable: from the field to the shelf, the prices of the 19 fruits and vegetables that make up the IPOD basket multiplied by 4.6 times in March, which represents a decrease of 6.5% compared to February.
IPOD livestock: for the 5 livestock products and by-products that make up the IPOD basket, the consumer paid 3.1 times more than what the producer received, 6.9% more than last month.
It should be noted that according to the CAME Retail Sales Index, sales of the food and beverage category accumulated a drop of 28.7% in the first three months of the year compared to the same period in 2023, reflecting the decrease in purchasing power and lack of price validation by the consumer. That is, the decline is explained by a decrease in demand.
Furthermore, during the first quarter of the year all links in the different value chains have seen their impact. profitability due to strong cost increases, not only due to the devaluation, but also to increases in transportation, logistics, electricity, gas, patents, real estate taxes, leases, fuel, fertilizers and machinery spare parts, to name a few.
Agrifood: which are the products with the largest price gaps
He zucchini (25.5 times), the garlic (19.3), the lemon (10.5), the tangerine (9.1) and the pear (5.8), were the five products that presented the greatest difference between origin and destination prices.
He zucchinisame as him lemon, registered an increase in supply caused by low demand. While the prices of the former fell 70.7% to the producer and increased 21% on the shelf, the acid citrus presented a decrease of 11.2% at origin and 5.4% at destination.
He garlic and the tangerine, for their part, had the same behavior: their prices fell at the producer (45.5% and 37.3%, respectively), but increases were observed at the consumer level (33.3% and 20%, respectively). In the particular case of garlicthere was a drop in prices and exports to Brazil – which is buying from China – which caused an oversupply.
Finally, there is the peara product that fell 4.9% on the shelf and rose 3.1% at origin.
Agrifood: which are the products with the smallest price gaps
Among the products that presented the smallest difference between the price received by the producer and that paid by the consumer are four fruit and vegetable products and one of animal origin.
The lettuce (1.3 times) It was the product with the smallest field-shelf gap of the month, increasing its prices at both ends of the chain: 407.8% at origin and 44.3% at destination.
The situation is a product of inclement weather. In the horticultural belt of Santa Fe and Buenos Aires, for example, not only did the temperature increase considerably in February and burn almost all the production, but also the producers suffered – in recent weeks – the attacks of heavy rains and floods that destroyed a large part of the greenhouses, causing a decrease in supply.
For its part, the Strawberry (1.5) It also increased for the producer (38.9%) and the consumer (9.9%). The same thing happened with the egg (1.8), a product of animal origin that generally has an integrated production system – all actors in the value chain are part of the business risk – and registered an increase of 18.5% in the field gate and 18.8% in gondola.
Lastly, the cabbage and the onion They presented a gap of 1.9 times. Their prices increased both to the producer (68.3% and 54.8%, respectively) and to the consumer (33.1% and 21.9%, respectively).
Source: Ambito
