MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Patagonia January inflation 3,6%, double the Falklands' annual retail prices index

In Patagonia, Communications ballooned 6,3%, restaurants and hotels 6,1%, Housing, rents and public rates 4,4%, Food and non alcoholic beverage, 3,7% and Transport 3,5%

Despite highly subsidized public rates, a long list of coerced consumer prices, relatively cheap fuel in the current global energy-short environment, the Consumer Price Index in Argentine Patagonia, mainly Tierra del Fuego, reached 3,6% in January, according to the latest report from the official stats office, Indec.

Anyhow this was 0,3 percentage points less than the Argentine CPI, which climbed to 3,9% and almost 51% in the last twelve months. Food, communications services including internet, restaurants and hotels, were some of the items that had a major incidence in the first month of 2022. At the other end Transport with 2,9%.

The monthly 3,6% is more than double the annual retail prices variation in the Falkland Islands, despite all the measures implemented by Argentina to thwart the Islands economy and development.

In Patagonia, Communications ballooned 6,3%, restaurants and hotels 6,1%, Housing, rents and public rates 4,4%, Food and non alcoholic beverage, 3,7% and Transport 3,5% .

More specifically and taking into account the Food and non alcoholic beverage, basic components of the Food Basket, during January in Patagonia prices of vegetables, potatoes and legumes climbed 7,9%; coffee, cacao and yerba, 5,3%; Sugar, sweets, chocolates, 4,5% and food, 3,7%. At the other extreme, bread and cereals were up 3%, fresh fruit, 3%; mineral water, bottled juices and soft drinks, 3,1%.

Private estimates are that the twelve months inflation in Argentina, --and Patagonia--, this year will again be in the range of 50%. In 2021 it was, 50,9%, in 2020, 42% and 2019, 53,5%.

It is enlightening to compares the above numbers with the retail prices index, an inflation measure, in the Falkland Islands, where annual variations, twelve months, are mostly half the Patagonia January index. Furthermore, and according to financial records from the Falklands State of the Economy, in the time span from 2010 to 2020, almost eleven years, prices in the Islands climbed 25%, more or less in line with the evolution of prices in the United Kingdom.