Argentina food basket rises fastest in Patagonia

The divergence matters because food is the biggest monthly drain on lower- and middle-income consumers, especially outside Buenos Aires. The report said Patagonia has the most expensive baskets and also some of the region’s highest private-sector wages, but those higher pay packets only partly offset the cost burden.

On a year-on-year basis, the gap is even wider. Provinces in Patagonia posted increases of 35% to 37% over the last 12 months, while San Luis, La Rioja and Catamarca recorded much milder rises of 25.5%, 25.1% and 24%, respectively.

Within the basket, some staples moved sharply higher. Onions rose 10% to 40% across many provinces, while sunflower oil increased about 2% to 4% in most jurisdictions, with bigger gains in Jujuy and Salta. Pasta prices also climbed 4% to 7% in most provinces, and more in San Juan and Salta.

For investors, the data points to a consumer sector still under strain even as inflation cools unevenly. The cost of filling the shopping cart remains high relative to wages, and the report said the basket can absorb more than a third of two retail-sector salaries in many cases, a reminder that discretionary spending remains vulnerable.

The regional split also complicates the broader inflation picture for Argentina, where local wage structures, logistics costs and distance from supply hubs can make price pressures persist in the south even when national trends ease. The next read-through will come from whether this dispersion narrows in coming months or keeps pressuring household demand in the highest-cost provinces.