Kenya Soto busily pats a tortilla, stops short, and spins quickly to flip others that cook on a glowing metal griddle. Two companions continue clapping, while Kenya checks the ones she has on the fire. The three make the “smallest” tortillas, which cost two cordobas per unit. “You can’t take any more size out of those, otherwise they would look like a host,” warns Soto, who owns a store in one of the warehouses to the northwest of the Mayoreo market.
In addition to the “small” ones, the three women make tortillas of three and five córdobas per unit, which have been slightly reduced in size, to compensate for the rise in the price of a quintal of corn and a slice of firewood.
According to Soto, a quintal of corn has gone from 600 to 900 cordobas in recent months; while the cut of firewood went from 10 to 12 córdobas per unit.
Several kilometers away in the Iván Montenegro market, in Managua, the tortilla maker Ana Estebana Guillén does not depend on the swaying of corn and firewood, she makes tortillas based on corn flour —Maseca— and a griddle heated with butane gas. However, both products have also registered an increase in recent months.
“I always keep a small tortilla for two córdobas, but the one I used to sell for 2.50, now I sell for three córdobas; and the one that was three córdobas away is now four córdobas away,” Guillén details.
Both merchants do not remember when they decided to raise the price or reduce the size of the larger tortillas, but they do agree that with the small tortilla they cannot make many changes, because customers do not carry them.
Despite these types of forecasts and considerations, the tortilla is the food product of the Nicaraguan basic food basket that has risen the most in price in the last year, according to data from the National Institute of Development Information (Inide).
The Nicaraguan basic basket — of 53 products (23 food, 15 household items and 15 clothing items) — is designed for a family of five members: two adults and three minors.
In April 2021, a family spent 931.95 cordobas to satisfy the monthly consumption of 57 pounds of tortillas, which is the amount established by the Inide. That figure rose 1,349.76 córdobas for April 2022, which represents an increase of 417.81 córdobas, according to official data.
rise in food
The Nicaraguan basic basket was listed last April at a total cost of 17,219.68 córdobas, an increase of 2,280.27 córdobas, compared to the 14,939.41 it cost in April 2021.
According to an analysis by CONFIDENTIAL, The cost of the basic basket last April exceeds by more than 6,600 córdobas, the highest of the ten minimum wages in force in Nicaragua, which is what is paid to workers in construction, financial establishments and insurance. The gap rises to almost 12,500 córdobas, when compared to the lowest of all, which is assigned to the agricultural sector.
Of the 53 products of the basic basket, thirteen food products are among the fifteen that presented the greatest increases in the last year. Such a situation shows how difficult it is for each Nicaraguan family to ensure three meal times a day.
The basket of 23 food products was purchased complete, in April 2021, with 10,014.37 cordobas, for last April 11,976.60 cordobas were required, about 1,962.23 cordobas more, according to INIDE figures.
In April of last year, a family spent about 722.43 cordobas to supply a monthly consumption of nine pounds of dry cheese, by April 2022 they spent 891.18 cordobas, an increase of 168.75 cordobas.
During the same period of time, spending on seven liters of oil went from 390.53 to 572.11 cordobas, an increase of 181.58 cordobas.
Wholesalers: “We only sell”
Maribel Novoa, manager of a distributor of basic products in the Mayoreo market, reports that daily customers ask for “rebates” or ask to sell “as they bought the last time”, which represents a dilemma for merchants, since “Cordobas What I lower are cordobas that I lose, because the intermediary sells me at a price and I pay him for that”.
He explains that there are products that go up “a few córdobas” every fifteen days or once a month, especially basic grains such as beans, rice and corn.
“A year ago, a quintal of corn sold for 650 or 680 cordobas; today I have it at 850 córdobas”, he exemplifies.
In April of last year, a family spent about 633.42 cordobas to meet a monthly consumption of 34 pounds of beans, by April 2022 they spent 753.78 cordobas, an increase of 120.36 cordobas.
During the same period, spending on 38 pounds of rice went from 552.14 to 630.04 cordobas, an increase of 77.90 cordobas.
In a recent interview with the program This week, the expert in consumer issues, Rubén Ernesto Arriola, indicated that from the Consulting of the Manager to the Consumer they sent a letter to the Ministry of Industry, Development and Commerce (Mific), in which they requested to stop taxing the basic basket.
“With tax reform many items were taxed, including food and cleaning products, which caused their price to rise automatically, hitting the purchasing power of consumers”, stressed Arriola.
This tax reform came into force in March 2019, at that time the basic basket was quoted at 13,414.69 córdobas, about 3,804.99 córdobas less than the value of last April.
