2024-02-12 22:51:43
Food expenses are increasing and represent an increasing proportion of income.
Although Colombians’ pockets have been hit hard by the high cost of living, last year inflation reached 13.12 percent annually, with food being the most expensive, which is what people spend today in the country. country to acquire a basic food basket to survive is not among the highest percentages nor is it the lowest among 67 countries analyzed by the picodi.com portal.
Is there a minimum wage to live with dignity? This question, which many people frequently ask, was answered in part by the Picodi portal, which made a comparative analysis of the cost of a basic food basket vs. the minimum wage of 67 countries, in order to determine in which the money reaches the most and in which the least.
You may be interested:
The first step consisted of converting the minimum wages of the different countries evaluated into dollars. That of Colombia in 2024 was 328 dollars, which implies that it is below the average of those analyzed, which is 728 dollars, taking into account that the maximum is in Luxembourg, where the minimum remuneration is 2,459 dollars and the highest figure low is in Nigeria with just 68 dollars per month.
The next step was to create a basic food basket made up of bread, milk, eggs, rice, cheese, meat, fruits and vegetables, in quantities necessary to supply one person per month. In Colombia, this basket today has a cost of 367,250 pesos and if we take into account that the minimum is 1,336,606 pesos, it means that the basket consumes 27.5% of the salary.
Here again, the country is not doing very well because in 40 of the 67 evaluated, purchasing the basic basket consumes a lower percentage of the minimum wage. In this aspect, the United Kingdom stands out, whose minimum remuneration is $1,937 and of that amount only 7.2% is required to purchase food. The opposite is the case in Nigeria, whose minimum wage of $68 is not enough to buy the basic basket and its inhabitants have to earn an additional 16.5% to have access to these foods.
Another aspect that has generated debate refers to the increase in the minimum wage, since Colombia completed three years of increases of more than double digits. The increase in 2024 was 12%, which is below the average of the countries evaluated by Picodi, which was 13%. In 21 nations the increase was higher than that of Colombia and there the ‘leadership’ is for Argentina, where the minimum rose 138.4% this year, due to hyperinflation. Likewise, in nine countries the minimum remuneration did not increase at all (in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Spain, Montenegro, Malaysia, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia and Vietnam).
We recommend you read:
As the minimum wage increases, the price of food increases
The basic food basket, as well as the minimum wage, has been constantly rising. In 2019 it cost 189,886 pesos; in 2020 there were 197,402; In 2021 it was 215,410 and in 2022 it was worth 227,540 pesos. By 2023, that basket will rise to 292,650 pesos. In these years, this food group represented between 22.1% and 24.5% of the minimum wage.
On the other hand, the Andi Food Industry Chamber, in collaboration with the consumer specialist firm Raddar, reported that last year Colombians spent 238.8 billion pesos on food. This means that on average Colombian households allocated 38.33% of their income to buying food and each one allocated an average of 839,124 pesos per month to said purchase. The households of Neiva, Barranquilla and Cartagena were the ones that had to allocate the highest percentage of their income to spending on food, with data of 49.43%, 44.33% and 43.99%, respectively.
Likewise, it was evident that more and more Colombians purchase food on a daily basis, that is, they make their purchases as they finish the products, instead of making purchases to supply themselves for long periods. These purchasing decisions, for the most part, respond to their consumption needs.
Colombia in this ranking occupies position 38 with a result of 24.5 percent, ahead of countries such as Mexico (34.4 percent, position 49), Peru (35.7 percent, position 51) and Brazil (37 .8 percent, 52nd place).
In Asia-Pacific countries such as the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, more than half of the minimum wage is spent on basic foodstuffs.
It adds that the largest year-on-year increases in the minimum wage were recorded in Argentina (104.5 percent) and Turkey (100 percent). In these countries, both inflation and the decrease in the value of the national currency have been above average for several years.
High increases in the minimum wage were also recorded in Moldova (32.5 percent year-on-year), Latvia (27.1 percent) and Malaysia (25.8 percent).
Colombia occupies 16th place in the ranking of salary growth. The lowest paid experienced lower wage increases, for example, in Peru (10.3 percent) and Ecuador (5.7 percent).
Basic basket
– Milk (10 liters) – 37,990 pesos
– Bread (10 bars of 500 g) – 41,330 pesos
– Rice (1.5 kg) – 5,560 pesos
– Eggs (20 units) – 12,000 pesos
– Cheese (1 kg) – 15,260 pesos
– Chicken and beef (6 kg) – 118,310 pesos
– Fruits (6 kg) – 32,530 pesos
– Vegetables (8 kg) – 29,670 pesos