The basic basket in Nicaragua reached a record price in the first four months of the year, from January to April 2022. The 53 products that make up the family basket rose by almost 6% compared to the end of 2021, according to data of the National Institute of Development Information (Inside).
In four months, the food basket increased by 964 cordobas. Currently, the basic basket has a cost of 17,219.68 cordobas. Experts predict that the price will continue to increase, also driven by the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.
Related news: “More uncertainty, hunger and poverty” due to increase in the basic basket in Nicaragua
The price of the food basket at the beginning of the year was 16,529.99 cordobas, in February its cost rose by 200.1 córdobas, in March it increased again 267.96 córdobas and in April 221.63 córdobas to exceed 17 thousand córdobas.
Just the basic foods like rice, beans, sugar; meat, dairy and eggs, cereals and perishables reach 11,976.60 thousand cordobas, according to the data of the Inide.
The products that increased the most in price were food, followed by those for use in the home and gas for cooking.
More poverty with the increase in the basic basket
The high price of the basic basket more than doubles the minimum wage established in the country, which for citizens translates into “uncertainty, hunger and more poverty for those of us who search for daily sustenance,” said a citizen interviewed by Article 66.
Nicaraguans who have a basic salary between 4,723.95 and 10,571.78 córdobas will have difficulty guaranteeing the products contained in the family basket.
The sociologist and economist Óscar René Vargas recently explained in an opinion article that “the rise in food prices will have its most severe impact on vulnerable households, and the increase in fuel prices will harm the poorest. The poorest population currently suffers the highest cost due to inflation. We see that income poverty is growing more.”
Since January 24 of this year, the National Institute for Consumer Defense (INDEC) sent a letter addressed to the head of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Commerce (MIFIC), in which they requested that 10 of the 53 products that make up the basic basket. In mid-April they presented the proposal again with the addition of maintaining the 25% subsidy to the electricity service rate, there are still no answers.
The inflationary dynamics in the region has accelerated, warns the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). As of March 2022, it is estimated that regional inflation was 7.5%, and many central banks in the region anticipate that inflation will remain high for the rest of the year, due to the greater uncertainty in the external context that will take place. has been accentuated by the war in Ukraine.
