Corn inflation hits the Mexican tamale on Candlemas Day

The return, after two years of the covid-19 pandemic, of the traditional Mexican celebration of Candelaria Day, which is celebrated this Thursday with tamales as protagonists, has been hit by the increase in prices and the inflation of the corn.

According to the National Alliance of Small Merchants (Anpec), the price of tamales has risen between 22% and 33% in recent months, an increase of between 3 and 6 pesos (0.16 and 0.32 dollars).

In Mexico, the Day of the Virgin of Candelaria is celebrated on February 2, which marks the culmination of the Christmas festivities with a meal starring tamales.

On January 6, Mexicans share the traditional Rosca de Reyes, sweet bread with slices of crystallized fruit, which contains several figures of the Child God and the people who find one of these figures in their piece must invite the tamales on February 2 .

This year Mexicans will celebrate Candelaria with inflation of 7.94%, after 2022 closed with an annual rate of 7.82%, the highest so far this century.

And food price indices were consistently above headline inflation.

Corn, essential for making tamales and a staple in the Mexican diet, was the second product that contributed the most to inflation last year, according to the economic organization “Mexico, how are we doing?”.

In the midst of these not very encouraging figures, the tamale producers consulted by EFE at the Tamal Fair held this week at the Museo Nacional de Culturas Populares, in the mayor’s office of Coyoacán, south of the capital, regretted that the rise in corn prices had forced to increase the prices of their food between 10 and 20 pesos (between 0.5 and 1 dollar).

“(Corn producers) raised prices by 20%, and I think it has to do with everything, because gasoline also rises”, alerted Metzli Barragán, from the southern state of Oaxaca.

Jacqueline Sánchez, a producer from the state of Michoacán, stressed that the anti-inflation measures promoted by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador are not having the desired effect on foods such as corn or plantains, present in many tamales.

“In general, both the price of corn and flour rose. But we are also small producers, so it didn’t affect us much. But yes, the process of everything involved in making some tamales went up in price”, added Fernando Retana, originally from Milpa Alta, a rural area southeast of Mexico City.

Producers and tamaleros

Retana’s case is not unique. Ariana Esquivel, from the central State of Mexico, is also present in the entire process of elaboration of the tamales, from the cultivation of the corn to the sale of the final product.

“A part where it hits us a lot (inflation) is in inputs, although we already come with an agroecological approach. So, although it suffers, we were able to solve it”, he explained.

Among the necessary inputs that became more expensive, denounced Esquivel, are fertilizers, whose price doubled.

Although he positively valued the Government’s aid to the countryside, he urged the authorities to bet on self-sufficiency.

“Otherwise we are going to continue importing and the price rise is going to be up to date. Because it is an international market, with other economic interests”, he opined.

Even so, the tamaleros assured that sales are going well and they hope that this February 2 the income will increase.

Although traditional tamales do not usually exceed 15 pesos (US$0.80), according to Anpec, Esquivel urged consumers not to underestimate the product.

“Not because it is a tamale does it have to be cheap. On the contrary, they all have their preparation, their time and are very nutritious“, said.

Tamales that cross borders

Producers from countries such as Honduras, Guatemala, Colombia or El Salvador also attended the Tamal Fair, the organizer of the event, Alejandra Flores, explained to EFE.

Mundy Rodríguez’s tamales, from Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital, were some of those that crossed borders.

Rodríguez, who is a gastronomy representative at the Embassy in Mexico, stressed the Latin American character of the tamale and its inflationary impact.

“Producer prices have risen and (customers) continue to buy, but it does show a little that prices have risen”, he indicated.

Source: EFE