The 118% devaluation determined by the current national government shortly after beginning its administration and excessive price marking, in some cases, led to the inflation to almost 100% in the last four months in Río Negro.
According to the data collected in the provincial capital by the Directorate of Statistics and Censuses of Río Negro, the index was 99.24% between December 2023 and March 2024.
The last month of last year hit hard: 33.51; then it began to decrease and reached 21.11% in January, 12% in February and 10.01% in March; to accumulate 49.23% during the first quarter of this year and It reaches 304.37% in the interannual measurement (April 2023-March 2024).
Always with official data, 10.01% in March had disparate variation between the different items analyzed.
- 178.76%
- rice, the product with the greatest variation within the basic food basket, increased.
Thus, the increase in equipment and maintenance was 14.52%, in urban passenger transport 12.41%, in personal and toiletries 11.48%, in food it was 9.75%, in recreation 9.12%, in medical care and health expenses 8.56%, in clothing, accessories and services 7.31% and in housing 4.89%.
In the quarter, the food basket is the most affected and among the essential products, the increases in rice 178.76%oil 169.64%, flour 163.70%, coffee 148.99%, fresh cheese 157.72%, milk 141.30% and bread 104.18%.
Below the general index were dry noodles with 93.71%, roast 80.32%, grass 78.31%, a dozen eggs 77.73%, chicken per kilo 75.01% and sugar. with only 26.36%.
Other areas where the rise in prices was very noticeable prices is in fuel with 158.41% On the average of gasoline, gas packaged in 10 kilo bottles with 114.61% and cement bags with 102.09%.
He urban passenger transport increased 162.50%medications (pain relievers and fever reducers as a reference) 134.34% and there was quite a variation in clothing.
In that sector, a men’s shirt rose 56.78%, a pair of pants 58.46% and a pair of shoes 88.34%. For women, pants increased by 35.59% but footwear had an increase of 132.32%, while a pair of children’s sneakers had an increase of 104.05%.
The price of the broom makes the index fly
The monthly survey carried out by the Department of Statistics and Censuses of the province includes the price of one hundred products, but not all of them have the same impact on the final index.
Each one receives a coefficient “relative to price”, which is the comparison with the rest of the products and the ranking, quite disparate, is headed by the liter fresh milk with a coefficient of 358,125,950,684.74, which had an increase of 141.30% in the quarter; followed by analgesics and fever reducers by 20 units (343,754,461,939.88), which increased by 134.34%; the kilo of lettuce (154,139,462,597.42), which increased by 415.41%; the broom (142,732,766,779.40), which rose 197.54%; and the half-kilo package of noodles (128,917,132,227.30), which rose 93.71%.
On the other hand, electricity and gas services reflect a low impact on the general index.
In fact, in the last four months there was no increase in gas and electricity increased by 126.66%.
These variations have to do with the methodology that the official body uses in its monthly measurement since the price of the cubic meter and the kilowatt is controlled in each of the services but the cost of transportation and distribution is left out, which had strong go up
