Even with an increase, the value is lower in the annual comparison
Weekly Basic Basket Balance, released by the Research and Analysis Institute of Fecomércio Mato Grosso (IPF-MT), brought an increase of 1.74% in the cost of groceries between the first and second week of November, totaling R$ 744.53. Despite the increase of more than R$12 in the weekly variation, the current value of the basket is 1.45% lower than that found in the same week in 2022, when it totaled R$755.48.
The president of Fecomércio-MT, José Wenceslau de Souza Júnior, says that “the increase observed in the majority of foods that make up the basket generated an upward impact of over 1%, which did not occur in previous weeks. Despite the strong growth observed this week, groceries once again recorded a lower value in the annual comparison, an important factor in the long-term assessment”.
Coffee, bananas and potatoes were the main foods to impact the basket’s positive variation, with increases of 12.64%, 7.99% and 3.78%, respectively. Wenceslau Júnior also highlights that “both bananas and coffee have not shown high average prices since the first half of the year. In the case of bananas, the average price level above R$10.09/kg had not been verified since March, and that of coffee, at R$17.58/500g, since May”.
In the case of bananas, the increase may be related to the reduction in supply of the fruit in some producing regions, which affects the behavior of prices observed on the shelves. For coffee, the increase in price may be linked to the availability of the food on the market, given the climate instability and Brazilian exports, which impact observed prices.
Also according to an IPF-MT analysis, the rise in the price of potatoes also made the item return to the average value seen in the last week of October, reaching R$5.26/kg. The resumption of growth may be related to the more intense rains observed in the areas destined for its production, which impacts its harvest and, consequently, its supply.
As for the foods that showed a drop this week, the superintendent of Fecomércio-MT, Igor Cunha, explains that “the variations observed were not very significant, insufficient to stop the strong increase in the price of the basket during the week. The decline in the price of wheat flour, of 1.51%, represented only a nominal reduction of 12 cents”.
