Belém’s worker spends 103 hours a month to buy the basic food basket

The study also pointed out a growth of 0.52% of food, between the months of May and June (Portal do Trabalhador/Sine Belém)

July 12, 2021

10:07

Danilo Alves – Cenarium Magazine

BELÉM – A signed worker, who receives a minimum wage – equivalent to R$ 1,100 – needs to spend up to 103 hours of work time to buy a basic food basket in the capital of Pará. The survey was released by the Intersyndicate Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (Diesse) on Tuesday, 6.

The research reveals that the time is calculated in 13 days, almost two weeks to buy the basic food, for instance. However, the study also pointed out a growth of 0.52% in food, between the months of May and June this year. According to the technical supervisor of Dieese, Roberto Sena, the price of the basic food basket in Belém costs an average of R$ 518.53 cents and at least four items are among the most expensive.

“At the same speed in which the work day increases, the prices of items also rise in the opposite direction of inflation. Because of this, the worker in Pará needs to spend at least 50% of the minimum wage to be able to eat,” he said.

Sena complemented: “Between May and June, the most expensive product was the liter of whole milk, which rose in 16 state capitals. The low offering of milk in the field and the high production costs have raised the prices of dairy products at retail. Besides this, derivative products are also more expensive,” detailed.

Research 

In addition, between May and June 2021, the average cost of the basic food basket increased in eight cities and decreased in nine, according to the National Survey of the Basic Food Basket in 17 capitals. The highest increases were registered in Fortaleza (1.77%), Curitiba (1.59%) and Florianopolis (1.42%). Therefore, the capitals with more intense drops were Goiânia (-2.23%), São Paulo (-1.51%), Belo Horizonte (-1.49%) and Campo Grande (-1.43%).

The most expensive basket was in Florianópolis (R$ 645.38), followed by Porto Alegre (R$ 642.31), São Paulo (R$ 626.76), Rio de Janeiro (R$ 619.24) and Curitiba (R$ 618.57), particularly. Among the cities in the North and Northeast, the ones that registered the lowest cost were Salvador (R$ 467.30) and Aracaju (R$ 470.97).

Consequently, when comparing June 2020 and June 2021, the price of the set of basic foods rose in all the capitals that are part of the survey. The percentages varied between 11.17% in Recife and 29.87% in Brasília.