“It doesn’t stop,” exclaims Paola Basso, hastily pasting one label on top of another at her grocery store in a Buenos Aires suburb, as the victory of far-liberal Javier Millay in Argentina’s presidential election sparked fresh price hikes, further fueling inflation. where reached 143% year-on-year.

“Customers ask us to split the one-kilo packets of sugar or to buy a single egg. It hurts us: people are in need and thus we deprive them of their dignity, but the prices are absurd,” says the grocer who runs a shop in the popular Moron district.

Some products have four price tags on top of each other, testifying to the skyrocketing rate of inflation.

“These are crazy days!” comments Fernando Savore, Paola’s husband and vice president of the Buenos Aires grocers’ federation. “Even though we changed prices last week, we saw big increases at wholesalers, 25 to 30 percent, compared to the Friday before the election,” he adds.

“Pasta prices are confusing. They have increased by more than 50%. There is no stock of olive oil and the prices of cleaning products have increased by 30%,” he explains.

No more price deals

The outgoing centre-left government of President Alberto Fernandez this week renewed an agreement to set a price ceiling on a list of supermarket essentials.

But undoubtedly this is the last time the measure is extended, as on December 10 Miley takes over the presidency, an advocate of price liberalization and an opponent of any government intervention in the market.

The imminent end of the agreement to frame prices “encourages their rise”, explains economist Hernán Letcher, director of Argentina’s Center for Economic Policy.

“The increase will be even bigger next month because the market expects a big devaluation (of the peso) when Miley takes over the presidency and consequently a possible increase in inflation,” he predicts.

“In Argentina, the 15th is the end of the month,” comments Fernando Savore. “In the first few days the customer pays in cash, after 15 with a credit card which in the past they would have used to buy shoes, a TV.”

Mario Amor, a 70-year-old customer, runs through all the aisles and carefully observes the prices. “They’ve grown a lot again. I want to know who has the best prices, I don’t know where to shop anymore,” he states sadly before leaving without buying anything.

In front of a shelf, Clara Tedesco, a 60-year-old seamstress, says she is “terrified” by the price of cheese, “which has gone up even more this week.” “It’s exhausting, you look at the prices, go from one place to another, compare, calculate, come back (…) Shopping is more difficult than finding a man,” she comments.

“More Sadness Than Rage”

In the butchers of the Mataderos district, the product labels do not show the prices. “We lose more time to write them, they change every two days,” says Evelyn Garcia. “The customers know it,” he adds, commenting that he sees “more sadness than anger” in their eyes because “they have to eat.”

Sales of more expensive meat have declined and consumers now prefer pork ribs or cheap cuts of meat.

“People are changing their habits to have some meat on their plate. Now I don’t know what they’re going to do, everything went up by more than 10% this week,” says Evelyn, while her shop was empty.

In a market on Via Madero Street, Clarissa Gomes dusts off a cage of kiwifruit in her fruit stand: “I take care of them like jewels. They cost 1,000 pesos each,” which is just over two dollars.

He emphasizes that all prices have increased since Monday: “raisins at 6,000 pesos per kilo ($16), pineapple at 3,000 ($8), bananas at 1,700 ($4.5) and apples at 1,000.”

“People buy two apples, one banana. If this continues I will be forced to sell by the slice”, he comments.