The cities in which the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose the most are Santo Domingo, Cuenca and Manta, according to the INEC.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose and stood at 1.94% in December 2021, compared to the same month in 2020, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC).

In monthly terms, the CPI rose 0.07% in December, compared to November 2021. The CPI is one of the main indicators to measure the cost of living.

The cities in which consumer prices increased the most in one year are Santo Domingo, with 3.16%; Cuenca, with 3.08%; and Manta, with 2.81%.

In Guayaquil, the CPI rose 1.54% between December 2020 and the same month of 2021. And in Quito it rose 2.13% in the same period.

Transportation, food, education

The rise in prices is due to an increase in nine of the 12 product groups that make up the basket with which the INEC calculates the CPI.

Transport tops the list, with a price increase of 1.26%; followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages, with 0.21%; and education cost, with 0.13%.

The category that fell the most was that of clothing and footwear, with a CPI of -0.03%, in interannual terms.

The cost of the basic family basket, made up of 75 products, was $719.65 in December 2021 (an increase of 0.6% compared to November), while the average household income reached $746.67.

In the Sierra, this basket was $732 and on the Coast $707.30. Cuenca was the most expensive city with a basic basket of $749.46.

The cost of the vital basket, made up of 73 basic products, stood at $508.83, which theoretically leaves a surplus in the family budget of $236.84.

Both baskets are a set of essential goods and services to satisfy the basic needs of the prototype household that, according to INEC parameters, is made up of four members, of which 1.6 people earn the basic salary, which in 2021 was $400 a month.

Highest inflation in the last six years

In December 2021, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 0.07%. A figure that represents a decrease compared to what happened in November that reached 0.36%, according to the report released this Thursday, by INEC.

However, the annual inflation in December (1.94%) was the highest rate since 2015, when the annual CPI as of December was 3.38%. Since that year there have only been two falls in the rate, in December 2016 when the annual CPI was 1.12% and in December 2018 it was 0.27%.

When analyzing the annual variation of prices by regions, the cities of the Sierra had a higher inflation with 2.09% compared to the cities of the Coast, which reached 1.81%. The cities with the highest inflation in the last year were Santo Domingo with 3.16%, Cuenca with 3.08% and Manta with 2.81%.

In the monthly variation, that of the Sierra continues to be higher with 0.15%, compared to that of the Coast, which was negative with -0.01%.

The change in the prices of staples over the last year

Among the fifteen products that increased the most in value during the last year, on a national scale, are fresh products, such as tree tomatoes and potatoes, and inputs, such as gasoline:

 

Those products that increased the most in price in the last year	Annual inflation in %
Diesel	44.14
Low octane gasoline	44.94
Ecological gasoline	44.89
High octane gasoline	41.79
Vegetable oil	36.31
Lentils	27.28
Wheat flour	15.53
Antiseptic alcohol	15.43
Dried peas	14.90
Inter-urban transportation	14.12
Melloco (fingerling potatoes)	12.45
Laundry soap	12.35
Margarine	11.10
Tree tomato	9.68

 

In the case of the increase in gasoline, the increase in value is because throughout 2021, a price adjustment policy was implemented that allowed the fuel price to vary from month to month. The government established this measure in May 2020, which was later suspended on October 23, 2021, following protests from the indigenous movement and transporters.

Conversely, the products that fell the most in price in 2021 were mainly fresh products, such as onions, oranges and coriander.

 

The products that fell the most in price in the last year	Annual decrease in %
White onions	-33.28
Oranges	-22.81
Coriander	-18.10
Red onions	-13.93
Lemons	-12.94
Passion fruit	-12.62
Yellow carrots	-11.13
Tomatoes	-8.45
Ice cream	-8.25
Cell phones	-8.08
Canned tuna	-7.72
Corn	-7.02
Broccoli	-5.90
Salt	-5.53
Sanitary napkins	-4.89