Inflation leaves small merchants with profits of 10,000 pesos

Cuauhtémoc Rivera, president of the National Alliance of Small Merchants (Anpec), assured in an interview that food inflation has not subsided and the figures released this Monday by the Inegi prove him right: chicken, lemon, oranges, eggs and corn tortillas are among the products with the highest increase in the first half of April.

“I think it is time for the federal government to review its (anti-inflation) strategy and think about alternative public actions and policies that allow us to find a better result, a better consumption opportunity for the population,” he said.

He pointed out that small business owners have been forced to work harder to try to maintain profits, including the deterioration of customers’ purchasing power.

The leader of at least 225,000 small businesses in the country admits that the people who go to these places rely on trust schemes or food batches to stock their pantries and avoid losses.

He clarifies that due to the business model, Anpec affiliates, unlike self-service stores, have a greater role in emergency or last-minute purchases, as well as a greater proximity to consumers: “We are all leaving tied up, we are in the same boat, and we have to help each other”.

Earnings of 10,000 pesos

“There are more strenuous days, longer, so you end up working more to try to earn what you earned before. A small merchant who has a more or less balanced business for more than 10 years knows well that what he is looking for right now is to try to have monthly sales of 30,000 or 40,000 pesos to earn about 10,000 from that. That is the bet, that is the effort, ”he assures.

President López Obrador has highlighted that self-service stores are capable of maintaining the basket of products included in their pact to contain inflation at around 1,100 pesos. The representative of small businesses comments that it is difficult to compete with large stores, due, among other things, to business models.

“The floor is very uneven. The issue is really the business model. We assist each other in last-minute purchases, in essential purchases, we are very customer-focused, we are the closest point of sale because we are closer to where the customer lives”.

Last week, Anpec announced that the Bimbo company’s products recently increased between 2 and 14 pesos.

In the first half of April, inflation in Mexico stood at 6.24% at an annual rate, supported by a high comparative base and seasonal factors such as the decline in electricity prices.

“Annual inflation was the lowest since October 2021. The slowdown continues to be led by the non-core index (energy, agriculture); the core moderated to a lesser extent and, in the interior, both merchandise and services showed less pressure,” Banco Ve por Más said in a report.