prices will continue to rise in Colombia

The year 2023 began with strong expectations regarding the increase in food and services for Colombians. Several analysts have been positive and predict that by the end of the year inflation will be below 10%, but reality prevails.

The Republica newspaper of the Ibero-American Economic Press Network (RIPE), found through the Roast Chicken Index a way to monitor one of the most consumed foods in Colombia, while evaluating the category of services such as restaurants, which is the second most pressured by inflation after of the price of food.

We then have that at the beginning of January, the first month of 2023, the Roast Chicken Index that this prepared food had an increase in almost all the cities evaluated. In December the pollo It was at 35,038 Colombian pesos (140 Mexican pesos). Beginning in January, the grills offered it at 35,419 pesos on average, an increase of 381 pesos or almost 400.

Headline inflation remains high. He Bank of the Republicthe central bank of Colombia, slowed the rate of interest rate hikes with an increase of 75 basis points at their last meeting. According to central bank projections, the Consumer’s price index (CPI) would be 12.92% in the first quarter of 2023, 12.32% in the second, 10.79% in the third and 8.71% in the fourth.

This agrees with the projections of the Roast Chicken Index of the Republic: food will continue through the roof, at least in the first months of the year.

The reasons why this typical dish has such a considerable price increase are associated with transportation, logistics and profit costs, rather than the cost of production.

November and December are generally good for restaurateurs, explained Alirio Uribe, owner of one of the grills consulted by La República, but it is precisely in those months when transport prices also become more expensive.

“In one way or another we must find a balance and in the end that is reflected in the price we give to the customer,” said Uribe.

The most expensive cities

Regarding what people can expect and based on the Roast Chicken Index that La República carries out every month, there are 7 cities included in the survey: Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Cúcuta, Tunja, Cartagena and Villavicencio.

And although September and October were months that showed a similar value in the price of roast chicken in several cities, for January the differences were significant.

In the first place, the most expensive roast chicken average for the first month of the year was presented by Bogotá, where there was a 9% increase, going from 36,300 pesos in December to 39,566 in January. It is the strongest shot at a geographical level, since it became more expensive than 3,000 (12 Mexican pesos).

The second place with the highest average was Medellín, where the average for January was 38,966 pesos compared to 38,300 in December, although it was a slight advance of almost 700 (almost 3 Mexican pesos).

Villavicencio appears in the top 3 of the 7 cities reviewed. He Roast Chicken Index in the Los Llanos region it remained at an average of 35,633, with an increase of 1,700 (almost 7 Mexican pesos) or an increase of 5%, compared to the result of December when it was at 33,933.

1 Colombian peso is equivalent to 0.0040 Mexican pesos.

He Roast Chicken Index from the newspaper The Republic is an exercise inspired by the Big Mac Index carried out by the London magazine The Economistwith the intention of analyzing the increase in prices and the purchasing power of currencies in different locations.