The value of the basic food basket fell in August in 16 of the 17 capitals analyzed by the National Survey of the Basic Food Basket, calculated monthly by the Inter-union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (Dieese). Belém was the only capital where the price of the basket rose (0.27%).
The most expressive fall in the value of the basic food basket occurred in Recife (-3%), followed by Fortaleza (-2.26%), Belo Horizonte (-2.13%) and Brasília (-2.08%).
In August, the most expensive basket in the country was that of São Paulo, where the average cost of basic foods was estimated at R$ 749.78. Following were the baskets from Porto Alegre (R$748.06), Florianópolis (R$746.21) and Rio de Janeiro (R$717.82). The cheapest basket was from Aracaju, where the average price found was R$ 539.57.
In the annual comparison, between August 2022 and the same month of 2021, there was a price increase in all the capitals surveyed. The biggest change was found in Recife (21.71%) and the smallest, in Porto Alegre (12.55%).
Based on the most expensive basket in the country, that of São Paulo, Dieese calculated that the ideal minimum wage, necessary to meet the expenses of a worker and his family with food, housing, health, education, clothing, hygiene, transport, leisure and social security, would be R$ 6,298.91 in the month of August, a value 5.2 times higher than the minimum wage currently in force in the country, of R$ 1,212.
