The sun is imposing and the streets are clear at 7:00 in the morning in the city of León. It’s January and it’s starting to get hot in the bus terminal market, where commercial activity is just beginning amid the noise of the routes, merchants and porters that supply small sections of vegetables, fruits and other perishable products.
“Everything is expensive here”, “we are not going to eat anymore”, “money is no longer enough”, are part of the frequent complaints that have been heard in the crowded market since last year, and let it not be said at the beginning of this .
Every day, Anabel Zúniga buys a three-course meal for the five members of her family in this market. She says that her husband has an informal job as a taxi driver in an 8-hour shift, in which he earns “according to the movement.” This month in the economy of families, the cost of food competes with school expenses, whose products are already equally expensive in the markets
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“For example, yesterday (this Tuesday) was a bad day, he only took out 300 córdobas for food, and I have to spend those in the market to buy the essentials; two pounds of beans, a pound of rice, half a pound of cheese, three plantains, 20 córdobas of chiltoma, the same amount of tomato, a pound of onion, and the ticket for the route. As you can see, it is not even enough for the improvement, less for the savings of the monthly payment of the water and electricity bills, ”he said.
Prices “up”
In the second week of January, vegetables and fruits, mainly citrus, woke up to be expensive. In the case of tomatoes, they keep the price at 80 córdobas for a bucket about 12 centimeters high, chiltoma at 50, onion 30, and potatoes at 50 córdobas per pound. The latter is the most expensive tuber that is listed after the quequisque.
“We are buying the basket of this product more expensive and to be able to supply we must be standing at 3:00 in the morning because it goes quickly. For example, we are buying a box of tomato at 800 córdobas and that of chiltoma at 400. In the case of citrus fruits, such as oranges and tangerines, they are priced at 50 córdobas a dozen, and Indian lemons at 70 and 80 córdobas a dozen,” said merchant Carlos Salgado.
Another of the perishable products that woke up high is the banana; at 10 córdobas a unit, bananas from Caracas at 40 a dozen, melons at 50 and watermelons at 180 córdobas.
difficult year
Yonathan Ramírez, a public accountant who manages his own grocery business, believes that widespread inflation is one of the elements that has led him to forecast that 2023 will be a year of recession or very low growth, since the investment climate, Every day it worsens due to the political and economic crisis that the country has been experiencing since 2018 and that worsened with the pandemic.
For this small businessman, there are multiple reasons for the uncontrolled increase in prices that has not been seen for many years. It indicates that the first thing that must be understood is that it is a global phenomenon that has had an impact on the health crisis of the pandemic, then the impact of the war in Ukraine, the increase in the price of the dollar, fuel and the cost of basic services, the climatic crisis that has brought with it droughts at times and copious winters at others and damages crops. To this we must add in Nicaragua, the current sociopolitical crisis.
For business administrator Lenín Juárez, that impact is just beginning. “This year there is no sign that things are getting better,” he says. Juárez recommended that citizens carefully plan personal or family expenses as much as possible.
“You have to compare prices in the markets, look for alternatives when a product exceeds what can be paid, make very clear budgets to prevent resources from going away in what is not a priority and buy what is in the fleet because it is cheaper” , he stressed.
This week in the markets of this department, a pound of sugar was quoted at 14 córdobas, rice between 16-17-18 and up to 20 córdobas per pound, depending on the variety. Beans between 34 and 38 córdobas a pound, a box of eggs between 140 and 150, a liter of oil at 58. Beef is 140 córdobas a pound and cheese is 100 córdobas.
January, the most expensive month for the return to school
Other products that are beginning to move in commerce this week are uniforms, footwear, and school supplies. The prices of clothing vary according to quality and size.
Tricotextile camisoles are priced at 160 córdobas, from size S to XL, shirts at 200 units, Sincatex fabric pants vary from 280 to 400 córdobas. Likewise, Sincatex fabric skirts are priced between 200 and 280 córdobas, sport shirts at 250 and socks at 45 córdobas. The prices of footwear range from 500 to 900 córdobas.
Hugo Flores saved his Christmas bonus for school expenses. He estimates that this year, his spending increased by 20 percent to get his school-age children ready. “On Friday I had to travel to the Oriental market in Managua to buy notebooks, pencils and backpacks for the whole year. There you can buy more easily by the dozen, since I have to prepare three children and it works out better for me,” said Flores, calculating that he spent about 15,000 córdobas on notebooks, pencils, a ruler, an eraser, a sharpener, a geometric pencil case, and backpacks, not including uniforms and textbooks.
According to the price table in this area, the father of the family must have at least 1,500, 2,000 and up to 3,000 córdobas per child, to prepare them for this 2023 school year.
