Officials from the Consumer Protection Agency (Profeco) prowled tortilla shops this week on the lookout for price gaugers after the cost of the food staple spiked across Jalisco.
On Monday, representatives for Grupos Unidos de Industriales de la Masa y la Tortilla del Estado de Jalisco said recent increases in the price of corn – quoted internationally in dollars – had obliged their members to pass on the costs to consumers, with increases of between three and six pesos per kilo of tortillas.
Senior Jalisco government officials, however, said the increase is unjustified given the current economic climate and the fact that the price of a ton of corn in the state is set at a maximum of 3,700 pesos.
But tortilla and masa producers say many distribution centers are selling the staple grain at 4,200 pesos and higher. They have called on the Consumer Protection Agency (Profeco) to step up their efforts to regulate the sector more effectively and impose sanctions wherever necessary.
In recent days, many tortillerias in Guadalajara have been selling the staple for 16-18 pesos a kilo. The established price is 10-13 pesos. Supermarkets have not raised their prices yet.
The hike is “purely speculative and without cause,” said Hector Padilla Gutiérrez, state secretary of Rural Development, adding that electricity and gasoline costs remained stable last year, and that supplies of domestic corn are plentiful.
Production of Mexican white corn – used predominantly for human consumption in preference to yellow corn – has fallen in recent years, making the country more reliant on imports, especially from the United States.
The tortilla is a thin, unleavened flat bread, made from finely ground maize (corn), and arguably Mexico’s most emblematic food staple. It has been consumed since pre-Hispanic times and comes in different flavors and colors, depending on the kind of maize used. The most popular are made from white corn. The name tortilla comes from the Spanish, who noted its resemblance to their traditional unleavened omelettes.
Around 30,000 people make a living directly related to the tortilla industry in Jalisco, according to government statistics. Many of them work in small neighborhood tortillerias, churning out hundreds of tortillas each day on machinery that has been in use for more than half a century.