Basic food basket under revision

Panama’s basic food basket (canasta) is about to change with eight new products introduced by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF).

Products such as macaroni, chicken leg, chicken breast, beans and cheese chiricanos are some of the new foods that will be introduced in October says . Rogelio Alvarado, the MEG  director of Economic and Social Analysis. He told La Prensa that the new basket was developed last year. It will require a new calculation method.but is still missing relevant studies from the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC) of the Comptroller. 

 According to the MEF, the new basket  was developed to respond to new consumer habits The updated list also includes: the chili pepper, bologna Corn Flakes, cabbage and pineapple. Meanwhile, there are foods that are replaced due to "rising" prices.  Cojinúa will be replaced by the sardine, the hock, black pulp and, chops, by smooth pork, and white sugar for brown sugar. The only food item that is removed completely from the basket is the one that includes fruit drinks,  and sodas. The introduction of these new products, said Alvarado – is because the consumer has replaced some foods because of price increases  "The current basket includes a high consumption of apples when it is bananas and oranges that are consumed and also speaks of a consumption pound of rice per day per person, when in fact the statistics say that's not necessarily so because the grain has been replaced by other products such as bananas, codito, yams and cassava.