Eggs, soft drinks, tomatoes, apples, canned goods, tortillas, sandwich bread, chicken, turkey, pork and beef have shot up in price between 5 and 10% in December. Now, the National Chamber of the Bakery Industry says that flour and energy hikes will force merchants to charge more for sweet and French bread in January.
A 44-kilo sack of flour, sold to bakers for 430 pesos, will cost between 470 or 480 pesos at the end of year, said Chamber delegate Leticia Pech Gamboa.
The industry is also keeping an eye on the price of a 50-kilo sack of sugar, which now costs 900 pesos, but so far has remained level.
Some items typically get more expensive during the holidays. One holiday delicacy in Yucatan is fruit cocktail or pineapple in syrup, which has already risen in price between 5 or 10 pesos per can. Sugary soft drinks also rise in price but settle back to normal after the New Year when demand shrinks.
Inflation at the grocery shelf is a blow not just for the consumer, but also for small stores, said Jorge Cardeña Licona, who represents small businesses at Canacope, a national business chamber.
Source: Diario de Yucatan
