Inflation surprised in April with a slight rise. The indicator was 5.16%, pressed by the spending groups of Restaurants and hotels, education, accommodation, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, health and transport.
This behavior was also reflected at the regional level, cities with the highest cost of living were Bucaramanga (6.49%), Pereira (6.18%) and Bogotá (5.66%). In Medellín, the rebound was 5.22%, greater than the national average.
Related: prices do not give truce: In April inflation remembered again and closed in 5.16%
In contrast, the cities with the minor variations of the indicator were Santa Marta (1.18%), Riohacha (2.91%) and Valledupar (3.65%).
What was the most and least in Medellín?
According to Dane’s sport, in April Medellín’s inflation was pressed by restaurants and hotels, whose prices increased 8.43%.
These followed Accommodation, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, with values that increased 6.87%; education with 5.93%; health with 4.93%; and non -alcoholic foods and drinks with 4.77%.
Find out: Medellín is the city with the price of the highest roast chicken in the country
For their part, the ones that increased less were information and communication (-1.36%); Furniture and household items (1.83%) and recreation and culture (2.82%).
For María Claudia Lacouture, president of the American Colombo Chamber, Amcham Colombia, attention must be paid to the increases in electricity and gas on the impact of inflation.
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“Although inflation has risen, the increase in electricity and gas prices – impulsed by greater imports – must be read carefully. They are key supplies for many sectors and their increase acts as a multiplier of costs in the economy. This indicator requires responsible reading and reinforces the urgency of reactivating the economy, starting with exploration to strengthen energy self -sufficiency and reduce external vulnerabilities, ”said Lacouture.
Why is Medellín so expensive?
The last invamer report revealed that there is concern for the cost of living in Medellín, Well, it is perceived higher than even Bogotá.
The firm developed a survey in which Medellín had the highest proportion of citizens who chose the cost of living as a concern, with 15.7%. To put it in context, in Bogotá, which is usually considered as the most expensive, that incidence was barely 1.5%: while Cali, the most “close” to Medellín’s data, showed 5.1%.
In general, paisas see insecurity as the biggest problem in the city (23%); followed by the cost of living, the lack of quality and coverage of health, corruption, poverty and unemployment, among others.
Related: Is it more expensive than Bogotá? Concern for the cost of living in Medellín is higher than in the rest of the country, according to invamer
Meanwhile, a Number study also reinforced that the standard of living in the Antioquia capital would be more expensive than in Bogotá. They put as an example that while a person in Bogotá would need $ 10.42 million per month to maintain the same standard of living in Medellín with income of $ 11 million.
Also, eating in an economic restaurant in Medellín would cost $ 25,000 on average, while in Bogotá the value is $ 23,000, which represents a difference of 8%.
For economist Raúl Ávila, the high prices of leases in Medellín are related to the low availability of goods and with which platforms such as Airbnb are concentrating a good proportion of demand.
As for the registration of restaurants, he said that “food availability has to do a bit, and increases in the exchange rate, which is making a large part of inputs, spices and condiments, which are not nationally made, are being imported with a much higher price.”
In turn, Carlos Sepúlveda, a professor and researcher at the University of Rosario, explained in a past interview with this newspaper that, in the case of Medellín, eating restaurants is being expensive, largely, in large part, For the flow of foreign tourists that the city has had in recent years, which within its immediate consequences brings an increase in the demand for products and services, generating a price increase.
In fact, the Colombian Association of Gastronomic Industry (ACODRES) had already warned in February that The dishes in restaurants in the country could present increases of up to 10% to relieve production losses, He affirmed that the sector has had to assume strong pressures on behalf of the increases in tolls, gasoline and public services.
