Inflation raises the price of Christmas dinner to double digits

The Christmas dinner it will cost about 15% more than last year. All traditional dishes, from baked turkey, pork leg or loin, cuts of meat and even pasta, have ingredients in their recipes whose price has jumped to double digits in 2022.

Fruits, vegetables, meat and bread are among the foods in which inflation will be most noticeable when shopping.

Families know this: almost all foods —both processed and agricultural— are more expensive. The general rise in prices It is linked to multiple factors: imbalances in supply and demand, cuts in supply chains due to the war in Europe and the viruses that have infected different species of birds in North America.

This price escalation will be decisive in the food decisions that households make to celebrate Christmas. Some strategies: make purchases in advance, choose a cheap menu, reduce portions, change ingredients or lower their quality.

In a country where almost 20% of people cannot afford the basic food basket, this year there will be more homes where there will be no pompous Christmas dinner.

What is the most expensive?

Bread, some vegetables, dairy products and meat are some of the products that have become more expensive in 2022, according to figures from the National Consumer Price Index (INPC) processed by The Economist.

Other supplies needed for desserts and drinks—alcoholic and nonalcoholic—will also cost significantly more than last year.

From basket of basic supplies For traditional Christmas dishes, white bread is the one that has increased its average price the most. According to the research of The Economist with figures from October, white bread is being sold 30.8% more expensive than last year.

The egg, another important input, especially for desserts, ranks second with a 27.7 percent increase. Box bread has a 21.9% higher price compared to 2021.

Other Christmas dinner products that register significant price increases are pasteurized cow’s milk (13.7%), ground beef (12.2%), pork loin (10.7%), special cuts of beef ( 6.6%) and shrimp (1.5%).

For the preparation of Christmas desserts, it is observed that evaporated or condensed milk is sold 11.4% more expensive than last year. Pineapple and sugar rose 10.6% and 10.4%, respectively. Chocolates and confectionery products register an interannual inflation rate of 9.0 percent.

Toasting with a little alcohol will also be more expensive. Beer rose 12.0% in price and table wine, 6.7 percent. Packaged soft drinks show an increase of 9.9 percent.

How much money will be needed for Christmas dinner?

A review of The Economist Based on the prices of Walmart and Chedraui supermarkets and local markets in the downtown area of ​​Mexico City, he found that a Christmas dinner for 8-10 people will cost between 2,500 and 5,000 pesos, depending on the dish to be cooked.

Some of the already prepared dishes would have the following approximate cost:

The traditional stuffed turkey in the oven: 1,800 pesos

Marinated pork loin or leg: 1,650

Ground beef lasagna: 350 pesos

Pasta in Alfredo sauce: 200 pesos

Romeritos: 320 pesos

Vegetable salad with fresh cheese: 300 pesos

Sweet apple salad: 180 pesos

Chocolate cake: 200 pesos

Fruit punch: 250 pesos

Two table wines: 400 pesos

Three large soft drinks: 105 pesos

Consumption patterns and food security levels are already registering changes due to the substantial increase in prices.

In some regions the rise in prices has been and will be more pronounced, so the impact on the pocket of its inhabitants will be greater. At the most recent cut in the interannual inflation rates, it was observed that the states of the Southeast, such as Oaxaca and Chiapas, have cities with higher price increases in relation to central states, such as the State of Mexico and Querétaro.

The force of the blow of inflation is also diverse if analyzed by socioeconomic level, the poorest families have suffered almost twice as much from the escalation of food prices. The truth is that these December banquets will require a greater outlay from all households in relation to last year.

ana.garcia@eleconomista.mx