Overview
- The Analytica May survey, published late June, found Santa Cruz was the most expensive province to fill the standardized monthly food-and-beverage basket at about ARS 1,013,092 while the conurbano bonaerense was the cheapest at about ARS 886,730.
- Prices rose month on month by as much as 5%, with Río Negro and Neuquén among the fastest-moving provinces and Río Negro recording the largest absolute increase from April of roughly ARS 62,947.
- Two product groups drove much of May's moves: sunflower oil and water crackers recorded widespread increases of roughly 3–6% in most provinces, and those items are hard for households to cut from monthly shopping.
- Nominal costs alone mask real pain because local wages matter: higher private salaries in Patagonia blunt the impact of higher prices, while provinces such as La Rioja saw basket inflation outpace wage gains and a larger share of household budgets spent on food.
- Analytica priced a fixed-brand, fixed-quantity basket using major supermarkets' online listings to ensure comparability, a method that highlights regional gaps and suggests policymakers should target income and price interventions rather than rely on national averages.