Tragedy causes price rises and food shortages in cities in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul

Lack of products on shelves and food insecurity are some of the concerns of Rio Grande do Sul citizens amid the historic floods, which caused the deaths of more than 110 people. In Porto Alegre and the metropolitan region of Rio Grande do Sul, in addition to closed stores, residents face a lack of water in taps and on market shelves.

In an interview with Earthjournalist from Santa Maria Leonardo Catto, 26 years old, who currently resides in Porto Alegre, reported that the lack of bottled drinking water in the markets is already a reality.

“I went to some markets and they all had a lack of water on the shelves. In one of them, there was a limit of water per customer, in others they didn’t have the product. Customers were buying soft drinks or juice to have something to drink”, reported Leonardo.

In Santa Maria, residents have not yet been affected by the lack of food on the shelves, but the prices of some products have been rising frequently. Social media manager Matheus Charão, 25 years old, commented that products like rice, for example, had a considerable increase. “What I noticed that the price increased a lot here in Santa Maria was rice. From R$27, it increased to R$35.”

Journalist Nadine Marino, 28 years old, resident of the city of Santiago, reported that products such as fruits and vegetables are already missing from the shelves in the city where she lives. Proteins of animal origin, in addition to being scarce, are also at a high value.

“Animal protein rose by around R$ 2 per kg, we still don’t have access to fruits here, because they come from Porto Alegre”, explained Nadine. In Santana do Livramento, on the border with Rivera, in Uruguay, bagged products such as peppers, potatoes English and tomatoes, for example, cost approximately R$50 per kilo.

The 66-year-old retiree, Tânia Lemes, said that she had to choose some products when purchasing at the market. “I even told my daughter, let’s just buy the basics. There are things that we will have to do without. Unfortunately, we can’t eat healthy things for that amount”, said Tânia.

In the city where the retiree lives, a kilo of red peppers reached R$54, tomatoes R$20. According to Tânia, for those who live on a minimum wage and need to buy medicine and pay rent, for example, it is almost impossible pay the bills and buy this type of product.

In cities such as São Borja and Uruguaiana, located in regions that border Argentina, the floods that are hitting the Uruguay River, in addition to affecting families living close to the banks of the river, are also affecting the prices of personal hygiene products and of the bag.

“Regular gasoline is already priced at approximately R$5.70 and, because of this, many things are increasing here in the West region. The roads are blocked, bagged food, for example, is already absurd. Here at home, we pay R$14 for a kilo of bananas”, reported journalist Luis Noal, who lives in Uruguaiana.

To date, interior cities have not been affected by a lack of water on shelves or in home taps. But the statements circulating in cities and in the local media indicate that people should use caution so as not to be disrespectful to anyone.

Source: Redação Terra