Prices of basic food products fall in 15 capitals

Prices of food products considered essential to everyday life fell in August, compared with July, in 15 of 18 capitals, where the research of these prices is conducted by the Inter-Union Departament for Statistics and Economic Studies (Dieese).

Compared with June, the cities where prices presented the largest fall were: Fortaleza, in Ceará (4.60%); Salvador, in Bahia (4.02%); Brasília (3.46%) and Rio de Janeiro (2.77%). Prices rose the most in Porto Alegre (1.2%) and João Pessoa (0.28%). In Recife, in Pernambuco, the value stood stable at 0.01%.

For the period between September 2014 and August 2015, the year-to-date price of the basic food basket went up in 18 state capitals researched.

Among the cities where prices rose last month, the most expensive basic food basket was found in Porto Alegre, in Rio Grande do Sul ($102.10), followed by São Paulo ($101.63), where the value was 2.47% lower than July and 14.28% higher than July 2014. The lowest value was found in Aracaju, in Sergipe ($74.51)

According to data from the Dieese, the minimum wage necessary to earn the household livelihood should be $857.73, i.e., four times the current value, which is $207.44.

Among the products with a drop in prices in most capitals are potatoes, tomatoes, beans and soybean oil. Among those that went up the most are bread roll, milk, beef and coffee.

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta