Cost of a healthy and sustainable basic food basket in Brazil between 2009 and 2024

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the evolution of the cost of a proposed healthy and sustainable basic food basket, nationally and for metropolitan regions, between 2009 and 2024. METHODS: Food purchase data (quantities and amounts paid) from the 2008–2009 and 2017–2018 Pesquisas de Orçamentos Familiares (POF - Household Budget Surveys) were used. T he food groups that make up the baskets were based on the Eat-Lancet planetary diet and official regulatory instruments. The Broad Consumer Price Index for foods and food groups was used to update the monthly prices of the items consumed by the Brazilian population in the context of the POFs that make up the proposed basic food basket. The accumulated inflation over the period was discounted to compare monetary values over time, calculating the real value of the basic food baskets. RESULTS: The real cost of the proposed national basic food basket remained relatively stable between 2009 and 2012, showing a subsequent upward trend until early 2017, including more significant growth between 2018 and 2024. A similar pattern was observed in the basic food baskets of the metropolitan regions. The cost (adult/month) represented on average 26% of the minimum wage in force in each year of the analysis period and 19% of the national average per capita income between 2010 and 2023. The share of food groups in the cost of the proposed basket remained stable over the period. CONCLUSION: There has been an increase in the real cost of the proposed healthy and sustainable basic food basket at national and regional level, particularly since 2018. Moreover, the value of the healthy and sustainable basic food basket showed an upward trend in relation to the average per capita income of the population, especially since 2018.