Mexico’s government has signed an agreement to bring back controls on the price of “basic” foods for six months.
In a social media post on X yesterday (12 November), recently appointed President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed the government had renewed the Package against Inflation and High Cost of Living (PACIC) agreement put in place in 2022.
PACIC will fix the cost of "24 products in the basic basket", she said, setting the maximum price to 910 pesos ($44.2).
She added: "This represents a 129-peso reduction compared to the previous agreement, which was 1,039 pesos."
In 2022, Sheinbaum’s predecessor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador waived import duties on a number of staple items, including bread, potatoes, tuna, beef, chicken, milk, eggs and cornflour .
The agreement was expected to be in place for at least a year.
Some of the essential 24 items in the latest agreement include pasteurised whole milk, basic cornflour, packaged bread, whole chicken, rice, vegetable oil and canned sardines.
An official statement from the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit confirmed that the 2024-2025 PACIC agreement had been accepted by 19 food and 11 marketing companies.
Manufacturers that have agreed to the deal so far include baker Grupo Bimbo, poultry producer Pilgrim's, cornflour maker Maseca and packaged rice and legumes business Verde Valle.
Retailers Walmart, Soriana, La Comer and SuperKompras also agreed to the PACIC terms, among others.
The statement said: "The private sector is ready to contribute to stabilising the prices of basic products, which will influence more balanced expectations between producers and consumers."
The ministry added that a review of value chains would also take place for products such as corn-nixtamal tortillas, among other food staples in the country.
Inflation was 4.76% in October year on year, according to Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).
At a press conference on Monday (11 November), Sheinbaum told reporters that in a bid to reduce imports of beans, the government had also increased the guaranteed price for the food product to 27 pesos per kg.
She also spoke of plans to develop “improved seeds” with small- and medium-sized producers to boost local bean production, and added that the government was also working with the states of Tabasco and Campeche to assess ways of boosting livestock and rice production.
