President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is hoping that a non-binding agreement between the government and private sector leaders to maintain stable prices of basic food products will put a brake on inflation, which this week rose to its highest level for 21 years.
Like citizens in many countries, millions of Mexicans are struggling to cope with rising prices, primarily caused by multiple global factors, in particular the convergence of the Russia-Ukraine conflict with the Covid pandemic, coupled with food shortages and the inability of shipping companies to meet a surging demand to move goods quickly around the world.
Mexican companies that have pledged not to raise prices for the remainder of the year include Telmex, Bimbo and other major producers of food staples such as corn, rice, eggs, milk and sugar. Alberto Manuel Sepúlveda, vice president of Corporate Affairs of Walmart de México, said the nation’s largest retailer was also “committed” to the goals of the agreement.
AMLO said the private sector firms were not coerced into joining the pact. “It is not about price control; it is an agreement, an alliance, to guarantee that the [24 products in the] basic food basket have a fair price,” he said.
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