Transparência
IBGE now measures price change in Aracaju, Rio Branco and São Luís
June 06, 2018 09h00 AM | Last Updated: June 07, 2018 03h00 PM
As of this month, the IPCA, IPCA-15 and INPC disclosures will have results for the municipalities of Aracaju (SE), Rio Branco (AC) and São Luís (MA). As a consequence, the National System of Consumer Price Indices (SNIPC) will reach a coverage of 16 locations, increasing the representativeness of the North and Northeast in the calculation of the country's inflation.
In addition to the new areas, the basket of items and sub-items of the price indices will be expanded. "There will be ten sub-items, especially considering the typical fish from the North and Northeast," says the IPCA manager, Fernando Gonçalves. Among the new subitems are the sururu (mollusk similar to the mussel) in Aracaju, and the curimatã and tambaqui (fish), both in São Luís and Rio Branco.
According to Fernando, the new locations and sub-items will not affect comparability: "The three new capital municipalities join the three previous ones and the ten Metropolitan Areas that were already part of the survey, forming the sample for May 2018 (released in June). With the new sample, regular collections will be made, with weights that will reduce the relative participation of the previous areas, in order to generate a more accurate and representative indicator of Brazil. There is no revision of the time series because price indexes are used for the indexation of contracts. "
The selection of new regions is part of a gradual process of the SNIPC area expansion. "The goal is, in the future, to cover the enitre country. New areas are joined in gradually, after studies and tests," says Price Indexes coordinator Gustavo Vitti: "We soon expect to include Cuiabá, in Mato Grosso."
The assistant director of surveys of the IBGE, Andrea Guimarães, explains the choice for the new areas: "They reinforce the representativeness of the North and Northeast in the national price indices. The high demand for daily price collection requires a large, well-trained team." This is also an opportunity to capture the differences among the consumption baskets of the new regions." For example, in Belém the population is more used to having lunch at home, while in Rio de Janeiro it is more common to have lunch away. The consumption structures are different and each of these regions will be able to see how the cost of living changes according to their own basket of products," concludes Andrea.
The IPCA and INPC will be put out on June 8 and the IPCA-15, on June 21.
