The cost of the urban food basket measured by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) reached 2,590.61 pesos per person per month in September 2026, an annual increase of 5.5% that outpaced headline inflation of 3.5% over the same period.

In rural areas the same basket stood at 1,940.96 pesos per person per month, an annual increase of 4.9%, according to the income-based poverty line report Inegi published on October 13. The indicator is used to determine the extreme income poverty line, a task the institute took on after the dissolution of the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy. The figure matters for Mexico because the food basket weighs more heavily on the spending of lower-income households: food products accounted for 64.5% of the annual rise in urban poverty lines and 60.1% in rural areas. El Economista also reports a monthly variation of 1.1% in urban areas and 1.6% in rural areas.

The prices that put the most pressure on the basket were:

The institute monitored 55 cities for the calculation. In September 2025 the annual rise in the urban basket was 4.7% and the rural basket 3.6%, meaning both accelerated. The income poverty line, which adds food and non-food items, reached 4,951.66 pesos per person per month in urban areas, 4.4% more than a year earlier, and 3,553.70 pesos in rural areas. Inegi's breakdown shows that public transportation became 8.4% more expensive annually in cities and 9.2% in rural areas.

The next monthly reading of the income poverty lines, which Inegi releases alongside the National Consumer Price Index, will show whether food price increases maintain their pace above the rest of prices. The behavior of onion and tomato, the two items with the highest annual incidence, will shape that reading.

This article was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence based on verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.