According to the latest report by consulting firm Analytica, in January the cost of a basket of food and drinks for a typical family in Argentina showed a gap of over 113,000 pesos between the most expensive and cheapest province in the country. The survey, which uses online prices for first-brand products to ensure comparability, places Patagonia as the region with the highest values, while the Northeast (NEA) and Northwest (NOA) remain the zones with the lowest nominal prices. In the first month of the year, Chubut and Entre Ríos had the highest price increase for the measured products, rising by 3%, while in Catamarca it was the smallest at just 0.9%, and even provinces like Misiones and San Juan recorded slight nominal decreases in the total cost of the basket compared to December. In absolute terms, Santa Cruz consolidated as the most expensive province to supply, with a value of $911,587 per month. The ranking of the most expensive districts is entirely dominated by the Patagonian region: Santa Cruz: $911,587, Chubut: $903,640, Tierra del Fuego: $891,399, Río Negro: $887,034, Neuquén: $867,078. In contrast, Misiones registered the most 'economic basket' with $798,252, followed by La Rioja ($807,716) and Chaco ($808,958). The report also emphasized the weight of the 'basket' on household income. In Patagonia, a family dedicates, on average, 15.7% of the sum of two registered private salaries to cover this basket. In the North, on the other hand, prices are lower but the cost of food represents 29.7% of family income. That is, a family in the NOA/NEA region must dedicate almost double their salary effort to buy exactly the same as a family in the South. Products that led the increases. Sunflower oil showed increases ranging between 3% and 5% in most provinces. The exception was in the City of Buenos Aires, where the value showed a decrease of 1.3%. A similar panorama was evidenced with the hamburger, whose prices rose between 4% and 7% throughout the country. In the same line, sausages recorded increases of between 2% and 4%. Meanwhile, the price of a dozen eggs remained unchanged in most jurisdictions.
