Consumption in Brazilian homes grew 7.75% in July

Consumption in Brazilian homes, measured by the Brazilian Supermarket Association (Abras), ended the month of July with an increase of 7.75% compared to June.

In the year, home consumption has accumulated a 2.57% increase.

Compared to July 2021, the indicator showed a high of 8.02%. The result contemplates the store formats: “atacarejo” (a mix of wholesale and retail), conventional supermarket, neighborhood store, hypermarket, mini-market, and e-commerce.

All indicators are deflated by the National Wide Consumer Price Index (IPCA), measured by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

According to Abras, besides the slowdown in food prices in July, the month had five weekends, which contributed to a higher number of visits to the point of sale.

“We have been monitoring since July the first signs of retraction in the prices of some items that had significant increases due to climate, seasonal, and commodities factors, which have been pressuring the food basket since the beginning of the year.

“If this lower inflationary pressure is maintained, consumption tends to grow in this second semester due to the growth in employment and the resources injected into the economy,” said the vice-president of Abras, Marcio Milan.

According to Abras data, the value of 35 products of wide consumption (food, beverages, meat, cleaning products, hygiene, and beauty items) reached the lowest level of the year, with a high of 0.63%.

There was a drop in prices of basic products such as soybean oil, beans, rice, sugar, and in the items of the vegetable and fruit basket, among them potatoes, tomatoes, and onions.

In July, the national basket comprised 35 widely consumed products such as food, beverages, meat, cleaning products, hygiene, and beauty items went from R$773.44 (US$148.36) to R$778.32. In the year, the high is 11.10%.

Soybean oil presented a retraction for the second month in a row, dropping 2.41% compared to June. The price of beans was 1.69% lower for the first time after six months of high.

The indicator also showed the third fall in the price of sugar, which in July retracted by 0.60%. Rice had the smallest price variation, 0.11%, and accumulated a 5.77% drop in 12 months.

The biggest price drops came from vegetable and produce products that have impacted the basket since the beginning of the year due to weather problems, lower supply in producing regions, and high freight costs.

Among these products are tomatoes (-23.68%), potatoes (-16.62%), and onions (-5.55%).

The data also show that the price of proteins varied less than 1% in July. The highlights were rear meat (-0.83%), egg (-0.42%), ham (-0.43%), frozen chicken (0.69%).

Of the beef cuts analyzed by Abrasmercado, the highest increase was for the forequarter (1.14%) after two consecutive months of retraction.

In the opposite direction, the national basket had four of the five highest increases pulled by milk and derivatives. Long-life milk was 25.46% more expensive, and dairy products were about 5% more expensive.

Among them are powdered milk (+5.36%), mozzarella cheese (+5.28%), and Prato cheese (+5.18%).

Another item that rose significantly was salt (3.96%). Costs with freight and packaging have increased the product’s price, which has accumulated 11.75% this year.

In the hygiene and beauty category, the increases were driven by soap (1.97%), shampoo (1.10%), toilet paper (1.01%), and toothpaste (0.99%).

In the cleaning basket, the highest increase was recorded for soap powder (2.14%), liquid dishwashing detergent (1.66%), disinfectant (1.20%), and bleach (0.22%).

The Northeastern region showed a negative variation in the basket prices by 0.14% and had the cheapest basket among the five regions.

In July, the average value was R$690.64. In the North, the drop was 0.07%, with the average price of the basket at R$833.08.

In the South, the basket’s price variation was +0.15%, the lowest of the year.

In July, the average price of the basket was R$880.05, and the region has the most expensive basket in the country.

The Midwest and Southeast regions had the biggest variations: 1.85% and 1.86%, with the baskets costing R$716.09 and R$769.86.

With information from Agência Brasil