San Salvador, Jan 18 (Prensa Latina) El Salvador’s basic basket rose by more than $28 in 2022 to set a record for food inflation in the country, official sources highlighted today.
The National Office of Statistics and Census (ONEC) showed data showing the rise in the cost of several staple foods in the country, such as beans, which have risen 40 percent in cost, while the popular tortilla has risen 25 percent in price.
According to Onec, groceries in urban areas saw a smaller increase at $28.56 than in rural areas, where the cap hit $29.66 to affect low-income Salvadorans.
The basic basket is made from the cost of a group of foods, including French bread, tortillas, rice, meat (beef, pork, or poultry), liquid milk, eggs, beans, sugar, and vegetables, and fuel for cooking such as gas. electricity or even firewood.
The cost of fuel for cooking rose 13.7 percent in urban areas and 19.3 percent in rural areas due to increases in oil, propane and electricity prices, although the government kept fuel prices frozen.
Other products that increased their prices were meat (6.5 percent), milk (22.2 percent), fats (20 percent), vegetables (10.5 percent).
Authorities said these increases are partly due to cumulative inflation, which up to December 2022 was 7.3 percent higher than the 1.21 percentage point in the same month of 2021, reflecting fluctuations in food supplies.
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