Mexico City — Mexican families traditionally make a wish as they eat 12 grapes on New Year’s Eve, one for each chime of the clock at midnight, but this year those wishes will cost more, with a 10% year-on-year hike in the price of the fruit in the country’s capital and metropolitan area.
A kilo of grapes has a price tag of more than 100 pesos ($4.88) in 15 of the country’s cities, according to statistics agency INEGI, but in some areas costs more than the daily minimum wage of 141.70 pesos ($6.91).
A kilo of Thompson grapes in Mexico City sells for an average 105 pesos, 10% more than a year ago.
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Inflation in Mexico jumped to a 21-year high in November, with consumer prices up 7.37% year-on-year, according to Bloomberg.
According to federal consumer protection agency Profeco, Mexico City supermarkets are selling grapes for between 88 and 99 pesos per kilo on average, depending on the neighborhood, and whether the grapes are seedless.
In 15 cities, some of which are tourist destinations, the price of kilo is above the daily minimum wage, making it difficult for some families to enjoy the annual midnight ritual.
Grapes are most expensive in Hermosillo, in Sonora state, located 280km south of the U.S. border, where a kilo sells for 185 pesos ($9).
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In La Paz, Baja California Sur, a city popular among U.S. tourists on their way to Los Cabos, a kilo sells for 130 pesos, while in Cancún, Quintana Roo, a popular destination for international tourists on Mexico’s Caribbean cost, a kilo goes for 120 pesos ($5.85).
In the cities of Acapulco, Puebla, Toluca, Veracruz, Villahermosa, Aguascalientes, Tepic, Querétaro, Tehuantepec, Izúcar de Matamoros and San Andrés Tuxtla the price is also above 100 pesos per kilo.
Grapes are cheapest however in Jacona, in Michoacán state, and in Fresnillo, in the state of Zacatecas, at 25 pesos ($1.21) per kilo, while in the cities of Durango, Mérida, Monterrey, Culiacán and Guadalajara a kilo will set you back between 35 and 45 pesos ($1.70-$2.20).
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