The Federal Consumer Prosecutor (Profeco), Ricardo Sheffield Padilla, accused the Maseca company of causing the increase in the price of tortillas in the country, as it is the main supplier of nixtamalized corn flour.
During the press conference of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the official said that the upward behavior in the price of the tortilla is related to the price provided by Maseca as a preponderant actor in the national market.
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Price of the tortilla in the month of July 2022
“Maseca sees that, even if the price of corn goes up or down, these little angels just know how to raise it, and they go up, up, up. Minsa has a behavior more similar to the same behavior that the ton of corn has in the domestic market, but the behavior in tortillerias is directly related to the price that Maseca gives, “said Sheffield when comparing prices between companies.
He even pointed out that the Federal Commission of Economic Competition (Cofece) should study the case, in the face of possible irregularities.
“I think that there are some economic phenomena out there that Cofece will be very interested in studying, because something is not working well in the case of Maseca with the way in which their prices behave, and as they force most of the tortillerias in the country to increase the price, even if the price of corn goes down,” he insisted.
The official said that in recent months there was a “very erratic” market with an upward trend in the price of the tortilla, exceeding 21 pesos per kilo last July, although already with a slight downward trend in August.
According to Profeco, 80% of the tortillas come from the thousands of tortilla shops in the country, while self-service stores supply 10% of the demand, and another 10% of families who prepare them at home, mainly in the south and center of the country.
In tortilla shops, the kilo of tortillas averaged $20.80 pesos, according to Profeco.
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