The most expensive food basket in Brazil in May was São Paulo, according to the National Food Basket Survey, released monthly by the Inter-union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (Dieese). In São Paulo, the average cost of the basket was R$ 777.93.
Among the 17 Brazilian capitals that are analyzed by the survey, the cheapest basic food basket was observed in Aracaju, where the average cost was R$ 548.38 in May.
Last month, the price of the basket fell in 14 Brazilian capitals compared to the previous month. The most significant drop was observed in Campo Grande (-7.30%), followed by Brasília (-6.10%), Rio de Janeiro (-5.84%) and Belo Horizonte (-5.81%). On the other hand, the biggest increase occurred in Belém, where the cost of the basket rose 2.99%, followed by Recife (2.26%) and Salvador (0.53%).
In the annual comparison, between May 2021 and May 2022, the price rose in all Brazilian capitals that are analyzed by the study. In Recife, for example, the variation reached 23.94%. In Vitória, the increase was 13.17%, the lowest value observed among the capitals.
Based on the most expensive basket in the country, registered in São Paulo, Dieese calculated that the minimum wage necessary to cover the expenses of a worker and his family with food, housing, health, education, clothing, hygiene, transport, leisure and pension plan, would be BRL 6,535.40, or 5.39 times the minimum of BRL 1,212.00.
