Food inflation recorded the largest monthly increase in February over the past five years.

The consumer price index (CPI), measured by the National Institute for Statistical Census (Indec), rose 4.7% in February to 52.3% in the last 12 months.In this context, the highlight is the rapid rise in the category “Food and non-alcoholic beverages” to 7.5%, which is the highest monthly growth rate observed since the Official Bureau of Statistics resumed measuring inflation at the end of 2016.

According to Nadín Argañaraz, founder and director of the Argentine Institute for Financial Analysis (IARAF), the second highest value was observed, which reached 7% in September 2018. “The increase in food and non-alcoholic beverages has a complete impact on the purchasing power of workers and retirees who allocate a large part of their income to the consumption of these goods”, says the analyst.

On the other hand, Argañaraz told Infobae that “it is important that the economy, income, exchange rates and monetary policies are consistent with the continued decline in inflation rates.” In this regard, he stressed that “inflation will not be able to fall steadily” unless that happens. “It is important that the price increase over the past four years has been on average 45% per year.”

In this context, the government condemned the war between Russia and Ukraine in February as heavy food inflation, but there was a major increase in most of the products beyond international demand, with the exception of meat.

According to Indec, fruits, vegetables, eggs and meat have increased, and the most powerful are those of “mixed salads”. Lettuce shots 72.7%, tomatoes 40.8%, onions 30.8%, potatoes 16.3%. The largest adjustment in oranges rose 19.8%, while apples rose 10.9% and bananas rose 7%. Meanwhile, lemons increased by 27%.

In addition, eggs increased by 22.5% in February, maintaining the trend that already occurred in the previous month.

According to official data, meat increased between 6.6% and 11.7% depending on cutting. Substitutes such as chicken and fish increased by 4.8% and 8.3%, respectively.

Meat occupies a leading position in the consumer basket.

French flute bread rose 7.6% this month, urging the government to create confidence in curbing flour prices.Meanwhile, noodles rose 4.5%. In dairy products, the increase was mixed. Fresh milk in sachets rose 4.6%, but milk powder surged 15.8%.

Butter increased by 5.4%, while cheese was between 4.8% and 6.6%, depending on the variety. In addition, grass increased by 6.2% and coffee by 5%.

The food and beverage sector was the largest increase in the month across the country, and the sector with the highest incidence rate in all regions. On average, contributed more than 2 percentage points to the increase in the general level.

Of the 10 foods that rose the most in February, lettuce stands out, with a sharp increase of 72.7% and tomatoes up 40.8% per kilo. The podium was completed with onions (per kilogram), an increase of 30.8%.

Further back lemons increased by 27% per kilo; 12 chicken eggs increased by 22.5%, oranges per kilo, prices increased by 19.8%, potatoes by 16.3%.

The list of the 10 foods that increased the most in the second month increased by 15.9% with formula milk. Minced meat increased by 11.7%, and kilograms of apples increased by 10.9%.

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