Corn gets 12.4% more expensive and consumers feel reflection on the table in Ribeirão Preto

In the first half of January alone, the price of the corn bag increased 12.40% and was being sold for up to R$ 52, according to data from the Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics (Cepea) of the University of São Paulo (USP). The reflection is already felt by consumers and traders in Ribeirão Preto (SP). This is because, the high affects not only the product itself, but derived, such as cornflour, and other foods, such as birds, whose feed is composed of grain. Fairer 30 years ago in the city, Ana Lúcia de Fernandes says she has become accustomed to the price variation. In the bank, the tray with 12 corn cobs sells for R $ 10, but there was a time when Ana Lúcia sold for R $ 12. "A lot of people think it's expensive. The price increases because it is out of season and corn is irrigated. So they charge more expensive. Even so, three times a week we are looking for the product always fresh", he says. Flours that have corn in the composition were also 3.35% more expensive. The cornmeal increased by 8% and corn cereal increased by 10%, according to a survey by the Paulista Association of Supermarkets. Birds fed corn-based feed also got more expensive. The price of the chicken kilo increased by 12.48% and eggs have been adjusted by 10.96% in the last 12 months, still according to cepea data. Economist José Rita Moreira explains that one of the reasons for changing the value is the increase in demand for corn in the international market, which made Brazil export more. "There is a worldwide demand for animal protein, which is meat and chicken, which need corn to feed. So there's a lot of corn exports from Brazil. With all this, it ends up having a local shortage", he explains. Despite this, the economist says that the trend is to reduce the value of corn bags. "That's momentary. We have a short-term low bias in the coming days," he concludes.