Mexico to renew food price control measures

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday that she would renew an agreement with food producers and retailers to keep the price of a set of basic groceries affordable for consumers.

The measure had been rolled out by her predecessor, former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, in 2022 as inflation was the highest it had been in two decades.

"We want prices to come down for consumers, especially for those who don't have much," Sheinbaum, who took office at the beginning of October, said in her morning press conference.

The new accord will be signed on Wednesday or Thursday, she added.

Lopez Obrador, Sheinbaum's mentor, launched the price controls in collaboration with the private sector on a set of groceries including corn tortillas, rice, soap, tomatoes and toilet paper.

Inflation has come down sharply since the agreement went into place, according to data from national statistics agency INEGI. In October, the annual inflation rate for food, drinks and tobacco was 3.81%, compared to the 13.95% rate two years earlier.