Food prices fell for the fourth month in a row in Brazil. In September, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the Broad Consumer Price Index (IPCA) was negative at -0.26% in the food and beverage group.
The IPCA is the index that measures the country’s official inflation. In the last four months, food and beverages have experienced deflation, a situation in which prices become cheaper (negative inflation). The accumulated decline was -1.17%.
The foods that showed the sharpest drop in prices were tomatoes (-11.52%), onions (-10.16%), garlic (-8.70%), potatoes (-8.55%) and rice (-2.14%).
In the case of food at home, deflation was -0.41% in September, compared to a drop of -0.83% recorded in August.
Deceleration
Eating away from home decelerated between August (0.50%) and September (0.11%). According to IBGE, the snack subitem fell from 0.83% to 0.53%.
The fall, in some cases, and the slowdown in prices, in others, influenced the general result of Septemberwhen the country’s official inflation (IPCA) was 0.48%. Over the last 12 months, the index has accumulated 5.17%.
In August, the country’s IPCA was negativeat -0.11%, also characterizing it as deflation.
