Ana Gabriela Verotti Farah

Ana Gabriela Verotti Farah

Staff Writer
The Brazil Business

Updated

Cost of Cesta Básica Throughout Brazil

Ana Gabriela Verotti Farah

Ana Gabriela Verotti Farah

Staff Writer
The Brazil Business

Updated

Did you know that the cost of a cesta básica is not the same in every part of Brazil? In this article you will learn where cestas básicas currently cost more and where cost less.

Cestas básicas' costs vary considerably in Brazil. Depending on the period of time when the foods were produced, their prices can increase or decrease really fast, causing changes in the whole amount of money used to obtain the monthly cardboard box.

However, the cost of cesta básica doesn't depend only on the foods prices; it also depends on the state where it will be distributed. In the 26 states of Brazil plus the Distrito Federal (Federal District), it's usual to see a large difference in the investment that families make in order to have the basic products at home.

The prices of the foods can vary according to the climate changes: dry weather and frosts can jeopardize the production of some items of the cesta básica, making prices higher. Depending on where the item was produced and where it will be sold, there can be changes in prices too.

The government can also influence in the prices: tax incentive actions, such as subsidized financing or price protection policies, can reduce the costs of production.

Where are the items produced?

Brazil is the ninth greatest rice producer in the world. The South region of Brazil is responsible for 54% of the national market of rice. The main producers are the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. Mato Grosso, from the Central-West region, is also one of the greatest producers in the country.

Approximately 3.5 million ton of beans are produced every year by all the five regions in Brazil. The main producers are Paraná, in the South region, and Minas Gerais, in the Southeast region.

Minas Gerais and Paraná are also in the top 3 list of producers of sugar in Brazil, respectively in the second and third places, each one with approximately 3 thousand ton produced. The major producer of the good, however, is São Paulo, in the Southeast region, with more than 20 thousand ton of sugar produced per year.

Rio Grande do Norte and Rio de Janeiro are responsible for almost all the production of salt in Brazil. Rio Grande do Norte, in the Northeast region, produces 80% of the Brazilian sea salt, specially in the cities of Macau, Moçoró and Areia Branca. In Rio de Janeiro, located in the Southeast region, Araruama and Cabo Frio are the biggest producers of the state.

Brazil is the major producer and exporter of coffee in the world and the second major consumer, only behind the United States. The production of coffee is distributed in 15 states: Acre, Bahia, Ceará, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Distrito Federal, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Pará, Paraná, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Rondônia and São Paulo. Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, both from the Southeast region, are the main producers of the good.

Wheat is the second most produced cereal in the world and, in Brazil, three regions are responsible for its production: the South, the Southeast and the Central-West. The main producers are Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul; Santa Catarina, São Paulo and Minas Gerais also have important shares of the national production.

DIEESE's National Research

The DIEESE (Departamento Intersindical de Estatística e Estudos Socioeconômicos or Inter Trade Union Department of Statistics and Socio-Economic Studies) makes a research in 17 of the 27 federal units in order to know where the prices are higher or lower. The 17 cities and their respective states and costs of cestas básica are the following:

  • Aracajú / SE: BRL 205,63 (lowest price)
  • Belém / PA: BRL 270,72
  • Belo Horizonte / MG: BRL 282,82
  • Brasília / DF: BRL 266,85
  • Curitiba / PR: BRL 270,84
  • Florianópolis / SC: BRL 283,86
  • Fortaleza / CE: BRL 244,55
  • Goiania / GO: BRL 237,92
  • João Pessoa / PB: BRL 235,85
  • Manaus / AM: BRL 284,85
  • Natal / RN: BRL 246,43
  • Porto Alegre / RS: BRL 286,83
  • Recife / PE: BRL 248,05
  • Rio de Janeiro / RJ: BRL 272,10
  • Salvador (Bahia) – BRL 220,49
  • São Paulo / SP: BRL 299,26 (highest price)
  • Vitória / ES: BRL 295,31

From these, there are two cities from the North region (Belém and Manaus), six cities from the Northeast region (Aracajú, Fortaleza, João Pessoa, Natal, Recife and Salvador), two cities from the Central-West region (Brasília and Goiânia), the four capitals of the states from the Southeast region (Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Vitória) and the three capitals of the states from the South region (Curitiba, Florianópolis and Porto Alegre).

Price changes in November, 2012

In November of 2012, the DIEESE made the Pesquisa Nacional de Cesta Básica (Cesta Básica's National Research) and reached the conclusion that the cost of cesta básica has decreased in this month, in comparison to October of the same year.

The cities where the drops in the prices were the highest were Rio de Janeiro (-7,88%), Porto Alegre (-6,18%) and Goiânia (-5,26%). Prices also decreased in São Paulo (-3,94%), Belo Horizonte (-2,68%) and Brasília (-1,73%).

There were registered increases in the prices in João Pessoa (1,02%), Belém (0,61%), Vitória (0,50%) and Florianópolis (0,31%).

Costs are higher comparing 2012 to 2011

The national research determined that the cost of cesta básica has increased in all 17 capitals, considering the period of an year from November of 2011 to November of 2012.

For the first 11 months of 2012, only the capital of Goiás registered an average (3,56%) in the cost of cesta básicas decrease that accumulated over the year. The other cities had increases that varied from 3,50% (Rio de Janeiro) to 16,04% (Natal).

Besides Natal, João Pessoa and Recife also had significant rise in prices of, respectively, 15,25% and 14,84% over the last 11 months. In this period there were increases in São Paulo (7,93%), Brasília (7,65%) and Belo Horizonte (7,12%) too. Goiânia (1,82%), Porto Alegre (2,57%) and Rio de Janeiro (3,98%) had the minor increases in the period.

What is taken into account when pricing?

Prices between cestas básicas of different states vary mainly because of other costs that are added to the costs of the food.

Due to the insufficient railway system, products are usually transported by trucks. The bad highways' conditions, such as holes and lack of road shoulders and traffic signs, increase the number of road accidents and, consequently, the cost of transportation. The new prices will be covered rising the prices of the products transported – which can be the food that goes in cestas básicas.

Another factor that can increase prices is the restrictions to the circulation of trucks in some cities. São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba and Porto Alegre are some examples of the important cities that restrict the circulation of trucks in some areas during a determined period of time.

The restrictions increase freight costs, as well as the consumption of gas. They also limit the alternative routes, sometimes increasing the time necessary to reach the destination.

With the restriction, it is necessary to have more trucks making the transport of the same amount of products at the same time. Considering this, there will be less journeys for each one of the truck drivers, who will, consequently, receive a lower salary. Also, with night journeys, it is necessary to spend money in order to guarantee the safety of the driver and the shipment. Part of the extra money spent can be removed from the prices of the products – which will increase.

Brazil: hunger and minimum salary

According to FAO (Organização das Nações Unidas para Alimentação e Agricultura or Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), in the last three years (2010, 2011 and 2012), Brazil reduced in 13% the number of undernourished people, which represents approximately 2 million people.

This decrease is due to the 5% rise in the Brazilian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) since 2009 and to the social programs of the Federal, State and Local governments that promote social inclusion.

Despite the good results in the last surveys and the praises made to projects such as Bolsa Família, 13 million people still starve in Brazil, which is contradictory considering that the country is one of the major producers of food in the world.

More than that, the monthly salary given to Brazilian workers isn't enough for their proper nourishment. Based on the calculations of the cesta básica, the DIEESE determines what is the ideal minimum salary which can provide the basic needs to the citizens. The latest research shows that the amount of money workers receive is not enough to pay for all the essential products. In the research, the minimum salary value established was BRL 2.514,09, which is four times the current official salary of BRL 622,00 (which has almost half of its value spent in one cesta básica).