The report refers to the persistent price difference recorded between the cities of Artigas, Uruguay, and Quaraí, Brazil, for 57 items across seven consumer segments.
It included the price gap in food and non-alcoholic beverages, alcoholic beverages and tobacco, clothing and footwear, household products, transportation, meals eaten outside the home, and miscellaneous goods.
The category of alcoholic beverages and cigarettes registered the largest price difference between the two cities, with a gap of 132 percent. The difference in miscellaneous goods was 110 percent. The third category with the largest price gap (108 percent) was household products. Food and beverages were 87 percent more expensive in Uruguay. Salt cost up to 360 percent more for shoppers in Artigas. The fifth category with the largest price gap was clothing and footwear (42 percent). Finally, the price difference between Artigas and Quaraí for meals eaten outside the home was 32 percent.
The price gap between the two cities is primarily explained by the greater depreciation of the Brazilian real against the US dollar.
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