The cost of a basic food basket in the Greater Buenos Aires Area surged by 11.7% in February, according to a report by the National Institute for Statistics and Census (INDEC) released today. That means that a family of four needed AR$80,483 that month to not be considered destitute.

The INDEC considers that a family is “destitute”  when their monthly income is less than the basic food basket. A family is considered to be in poverty if they earn less than the basic food basket plus services, known as the total basic basket. The INDEC reported that the poverty threshold for February was AR$177,063 – an 8.3% increase compared to January.

The year-on-year increase for the basic food basket and the total basic basket were 111.3% and 115.1% respectively. The figures for poverty and destitution are significantly higher than the general inflation rate for February, which totaled 6.6%, and year-on-year, which was 102.5%. That means that products that were part of the total basic basket and the basic food basket soared more than the general prices of the economy.

In their general inflation report, the INDEC said that the “foods and non-alcoholic beverages” sector saw the highest increase, with a 9.8% monthly hike. Meats and meat-related products, dairy and eggs were among the goods with the largest price increases.