Sales in supermarkets are stable in January

In the first month of the year, sales of the supermarket sector remained stable registering high 0.09%, light in comparison with the same period of the previous year. In comparison with the previous month, sales of January showed -21.30% drop. The data are from the National Sales Index Abras (Brazilian Association of Supermarkets).
In nominal values, the industry showed sales drop-21.00% compared with the previous month and when compared to the previous year, up 5.48 percent. Year to date, sales rose 5.48%.
"The result shows the reflection of the economic situation of the country, with high unemployment, and a consumer even more restrained and less purchasing power. We know that the year will be a challenge for the industry, and it takes a lot of effort into devising strategies to help drive sales. As previously disclosed, our initial expectation is for growth of 1.3% for 2017, "says the Superintendent of OPEN, Tojo Mathew.

Basket of products in the month of January, the Abrasmercado products basket (basket consisting of 35 most consumed products in the supermarkets: food, including beer and soft drink, hygiene, beauty and household cleaners) recorded a fall of 0.72%, from R$ to R$ 479.64 483.10. In comparison with January 2016, the high of 6.06% presented basket.

The largest price highs in January were recorded in products such as soy oil, refrigerant pet, margarine and creamy tomato extract. The biggest falls were in the items: potatoes, cassava flour, tomatoes and beans.

Regions
In January, the Northeast was the only Region that showed high prices, 2.53%, reaching R$ 429.78; the result was boosted by Salvador (4.20%), Recife (3.75%) and Maceió (2.86%). The biggest fall was registered in the Central-West region ( -2.31%), which claimed in January R$ 450.77, pulled mainly by Brasilia ( -3.39%) and Goiânia ( -2.41%).