The Central Market of San Salvador is a river, an incessant flow of colors, aromas and textures; a stage for a dance of buyers and sellers, who fight to get food or money to live from day to day.
A battle that is now also fueled by the call of its president, Nayib Bukele, to lower food prices to “heal” the economy.
“I hope that tomorrow food prices will be lower than they are now.“, he sentenced Bukele in a national radio and television broadcast on July 5th in which he threatened to apply more than fines to “food importers, wholesalers and marketers“who, in his opinion, abuse prices.
In just over two years, the economic situation has become the biggest concern for Salvadorans after the drop in violence rates and is also seen as the main failure of the Bukele era, according to polls.
According to official figures, when Bukele came to power in 2019, the average basic food basket was US$200.02 and in 2024 it will reach US$256.02 in urban areas, while in rural areas it went from US$144.48 to US$182.62 between 2019 and 2024.
Meanwhile, a murmur runs incessantly through the Central, as the capital’s residents call the epicenter of sales of vegetables, fruits and other things, going back and forth between the small vegetable and grain stalls on the side of the street: everything is expensive, money is not enough and you earn little.
Shoppers are short of money to cover their needs, while retailers see their profit margins limited to a few dollars a day.
“We are not winning anything“We have to pay for it,” laments an elderly woman who has lived for decades selling vegetables and supporting her family. When asked if prices have gone down, she simply says: “Nothing”.
Surveys, such as one from the private Francisco Gavidia University (UFG), indicate that 64.3% of Salvadorans “Consumption of some products or services has decreased due to rising prices”.
The vendor, dressed in a traditional apron and whose face reflects the hustle and bustle of a life in this market, complains about the cost of the products.
A small box of tomatoes costs him $43, a bag of green peppers $60, a bunch of onions $14, whereas before they cost up to $3. The same goes for carrots, which he now pays $20 for, whereas before they cost $5.
When they cannot afford to pay, they get the product on credit, but at a higher price. A higher price implies a slower sale, so the product stagnates and gets damaged.
Patricia, who shops at the Central Market in San Salvador, says that “Some things have come down a bit, but most remain expensive”. And he comments that “Supposedly wholesalers raise their prices, but there is no reason”.
He regrets that he has had to reduce his purchases to “the most necessary” such as rice, beans, oil, eggs, cheese and cream, and “We consume little meat”. And he points out: “He (the president) said that everything was going to be very cheap, but it has not been seen.”.
Threats are not the solution
The president of the Salvadoran Chamber of Small and Medium Agricultural Producers Association (CAMPO), Luis Treminio, believes that the problem of prices is due to the absence of a national agricultural policy because “This is a complete mess”.
He points out that “What must be guaranteed first is food sovereignty so as not to depend on the producing countries.”.
“This is the fifth government to which we have proposed the need to create this national agricultural policy and so far they have not listened to us, the governments have played dumb, it seems that they benefit more from the existence of imports than from promoting national production.“, he stresses.
According to Treminio, “Here agriculture is managed according to the thoughts of the Minister of Agriculture on duty.“and points out that under Bukele’s administration at least four different ministers have been appointed.
On the situation of local agriculture he says that “We are in pretty bad shape“and that there is a dependence on imports to meet local demand.
This dependency is 90% for vegetables, 60% for dairy products, 32% for corn, 25% for beans and 33% for rice.
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Source: Gestion
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
