The depreciation of the Brazilian real increased the difference with its northern neighbor, according to the Artigas-Quaraí Border Price Indicator of the Catholic University of Uruguay (UCU).

The indicator shows differences of more than 100% in three product divisions.

The report prepared by the Economic Observatory UCU Campus Salto for the month of November, states that to buy a market basket in the border department of Artigas is 70,89% more expensive than in Quaraí (Rio Grande do Sul), with marked differences in the most basic items.

The distance in the division “Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ — the one with the highest weighting, reaches 80,98%, while that of “Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco” reaches up to 157,13%.

It is followed by “Household Products’ for which the inequality is 112,34% and “Miscellaneous’ with 109,50%.

The price difference with Brazil is reminiscent of the one that separated Uruguay from Argentina last year, and affected Uruguayan traders in border areas for purchases by their compatriots across the border.

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