Basic food basket in dollars posts five months of decline in Venezuela, but rebounds in August

The average cost of a basket of essential products in Venezuela has declined for five consecutive months, according to data published by the outlet Descifrado. According to the report, the value fell from $34.81 on March 21, 2026, to $31.63 on August 22, a cumulative decline of 9.1% over that period.

However, this downward trend has not been linear over the months, as the indicator registers a partial rebound in August. The tracking covers a limited set of products in 15 cities across the country, where specific items such as beef for soup and white cheese account for most of consumers' daily spending.

At the same time, the broader cost-of-living context shows severe inflationary pressures that are eroding household purchasing power. According to information published by the daily El Nacional, based on records from the Center for Documentation and Analysis for Workers (Cendas), a Venezuelan family of five needed 728 dollars in July to cover its basic food needs.

This difference in scale reflects that the partial monitoring of 10 products captures a specific price trend, while Cendas' full food basket encompasses the entirety of the nutritional requirements of the family unit. This deterioration in income is occurring in an inflationary environment in which prices have accumulated an increase of 175.5% in the first seven months of the year, with a 19.9% rise recorded in July alone.

For official financial transactions and references in the domestic market, the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) set the reference exchange rate at 791.32 bolívares per dollar and 921.81 bolívares per euro for the value date of August 27, 2026.