The price variation index prepared by the Food Chamber showed that -0.76 percent was recorded in October. He weighed the drop in the value of chicken and personal hygiene and cleaning products. There is a slight rebound in sales levels in local businesses.
To the surprise of many, a deflation was noticed in the average statistics, prepared monthly by the Pergamino Food Chamber, and which includes packaged foods, fruits, meats, cleaning products and personal hygiene items.
Thus, the price variation index prepared by the local entity showed that, in October, it was recorded -0.76 percent. The minus sign before the number denotes something that has not happened for many years since it marks deflation, that is, that prices have seen drops in prices.
Although considering food products, on average, they rose by just 0.32 percent, the drop in the values of cleaning and personal hygiene items, which was just over 6 percent, influenced the general average, determining the -076 percent.
In addition to this hopeful data, it is important to clarify that the accumulated annual figure, if it is inflation in the basket, from January to October is 76.18 percent, while the interannual figure, that is, in the last 12 months, was 203.30 percent.
History
With the desire to focus on the results of the statistics, corresponding to the month of October, LA OPINION spoke with Nelson Figueredo, president of the Pergamino Food Chamber (CAP). “It is historic that we have registered a deflation in the statistics, something that did not happen in a long time. I must admit that I had doubts in communicating them, so I visited several businesses to see if they were consistent with what they had informed me, and yes, it was indeed like that,” said Figueredo while clarifying that this measurement has to do with the prices of “food, toiletries and cleaning, which is the humble basket that we measure.”
Habit changes
Regarding deflation specifically, the interviewee attributed it to the fact that, in various areas, there are many offers, that is, “now the supply is widely exceeding the demand because the large consumption that there was in previous years occurred in the middle of the ‘small money plan’ of the previous Government. We must also observe that people, accustomed to a great inflation that had been permanently chasing us, built up a super stock. Now as things began to have the same price or lower in some cases, people and. “The companies even came in to settle this, and that is the reason why there are many offers and merchandise of all kinds.”
The merchant’s effort
Highlighting the attitude of the local merchant, which has been sustained and has made an effort to maintain prices and add promotions to capture the attention of consumers, Figueredo assured that “local merchants do whatever it takes to increase consumption, they even go In the search for the best prices and then transfer that to the customer, they are always doing the impossible to have the best value for their neighbor. And in recent times they have managed to add bank promotions, virtual wallets, tools that allow them to increase their sales levels. “.
Supply exceeding demand
In addition to deflation, the president of the CAP highlighted the rebound in sales in local businesses, which are those represented by the Chamber. “Although sales did not increase exponentially, we did notice that they have been increasing very slowly. This goes hand in hand with a change in habits among consumers who previously went to fill the cart. Today the purchasing power is not enough For this reason, the majority of purchases are made, day by day, in local businesses,” said Figueredo and pondered the fact that consumption levels “do not register that resounding drop at the beginning of the year but rather were settling down.”
In detail
The products that lowered their price and that were weighed in the final average that resulted in deflation were: poultry meat with -11.6 percent, personal hygiene products with -7.6 percent, cleaning with -4.5 percent, dairy with -0.6 percent and warehouse packaging with 3 percent. Cold cuts and sausages did not change their costs. Meanwhile, those that saw increases in their values were: 0.8 percent for beverages, 2.4 percent for fresh pasta, 2.5 percent for beef and pork, and 4.8 percent for fruits and vegetables. Finally, baked goods were the products that registered the greatest increase with 7.6 percent.
“In our opinion, deflation was driven by the drop in the price of chicken with -11.6 percent. As I always say, poultry meat fluctuates, rises, falls, permanently, but this October it fell considerably and weighed in the average of the -0.76%,” said Figueredo.
My to my
The statistics prepared month by month by the Pergamino Food Chamber are based on the values of 460 items of the same brand, packaging and content; and visiting 34 businesses in our city. And it not only includes food but also cleaning supplies and personal hygiene products.
This work is carried out with the contribution of associated merchants within the city of Pergamino. It should not be compared with the data published by Indec or other government organizations since, since they are different methodologies and parameters, they would not yield the same figures.
Trend that continues
The president of the Food Chamber said he felt “happy” since “we see the result of an inflation situation that is disappearing little by little and I think we are going to maintain these values at least in the month of November since, “December has always been a month of high demand and at the same time prices are adjusted.”
