In September, a Venezuelan needed 106.3 dollars to cover basic food expenses, according to the Center for Documentation and Social Analysis of the Venezuelan Federation of Teachers (Cendas-FVM). This figure represented a decrease of 1.5 dollars compared to August. The cost of the basket for a family of five reached 531.57 dollars in the same month.
The Cendas report indicates that a Venezuelan household with five members needed 17.7 dollars daily to purchase the 60 essential products of the food basket in the country. In Venezuela, where the minimum wage is 130 bolivars monthly (about 3.3 dollars at the official exchange rate), it is supplemented with a food bonus of 40 dollars. Additionally, public employees receive an 'economic war bonus' of 90 dollars, which, together with the food bonus and salary, totals 133.3 dollars.
During the last month, the sector that saw the highest price increase was meats and their preparations (3.46%), fats and oils (2.49%), as well as roots and tubers (1.94%). Inflation in September, according to the Central Bank of Venezuela, was 0.8%, with a cumulative price increase rate of 12.1% in the first nine months of the year.
The BCV reported that the highest price increase was recorded in the education sector (4.9%), followed by alcoholic beverages and tobacco (1.5%), health, and restaurants and hotels (both with a 1.4% increase). Venezuela managed to exit hyperinflation in December 2021, which began in 2017 and affected the value of the bolivar, the official currency, as well as citizens' confidence in it, who adopted the dollar unofficially to protect their income.
