We are a couple of weeks away from the Day of the Dead, a Mexican holiday of which the altar of the dead is characteristic and which has become more relevant each year, as thousands of entrepreneurs have seen a great business opportunity and reactivation of the economy.
Although this year, due to inflation, putting the altar of the dead or the Day of the Dead offering will be a little more expensive than in previous years, according to information from a study carried out by the firm Hellosafe.
According to said study, putting up the altar of the dead will cost 17.6% more in 2022, compared to the previous year. While in 2021, the budget for the Day of the Dead offering was approximately 1,368.60 pesos, this year it is estimated that it will reach up to 1,609 pesos on average, that is, it will cost 240.40 pesos more than the previous year.
Although the trend is always towards price increases (with the exception of 2020), the cost of the altar of the dead estimated for this year and from 2021 is significant considering that in years prior to 2021 the estimated cost for the offering of the Day de Muertos did not exceed the limit of one thousand one hundred pesos, as shown by the graph of the Hellosafe study.
Ornaments and accessories for the altar of the dead, what will be spent the most
Another interesting fact from the study of this firm is the distribution of the budget in the various elements of the offering.
It is estimated that a third of the budget for the altar of the dead will go to decorations and accessories for the Day of the Dead, with up to 34.5%. Although if the budget allocated to dishes and beverages and tobacco were combined, this would represent almost half with 44%. The element of the Day of the Dead offering in which the least investment is expected is sweets, with only 4% of the budget.
How much will each item in the offering cost?
Although a greater expense is estimated in the decorations of the altar of the dead, according to the study of hellosafe, the element that shows the greatest price increase from 2021 to 2022 is the offering dishes, because while the previous year preparing these dishes cost an average of 261 pesos, this year it is expected to cost up to 379 pesos. For their part, Day of the Dead flowers are the ones that showed the lowest price increase with only 2.90 pesos difference from 2021 to 2022.
Bread of the dead, candles and cempasuchil flowers, separate cases on the altar of the dead
The typical bread of the dead, one of the main elements within the Day of the Dead offering, had its price increased almost 20% more than in 2021: while the average price was 13.50 pesos per piece, this year the average cost is 16.00 pesos per piece, according to the Hellosafe study.
We looked at two of the best-known bakeries in Mexico and the prices are even higher: they range from 22 pesos (mini size), through 32 pesos for the medium pan de muerto, 59 pesos for the stuffed pan de muerto, 68 pesos the variant of bunny bread of the dead and reaching up to 298 pesos for the family size bread of the dead filled with cream.
Meanwhile, the light of the dead represented by the candles, has also shown increases in its prices: from 20% in medium candles and up to almost 40% in medium candles.
If flowers in general did not show a significant increase in their prices, the characteristic cempasuchil flower did: a bunch of these flowers increased in price by up to 300%, according to the study by hellosafe.
In addition to this price increase in the cempasuchil flower, producers and entrepreneurs have another important challenge: unfair competition from the production of cempasuchils in China, which are sold at a lower price than national flowers. Here we tell you how to differentiate between Mexican and Chinese cempasuchil flowers.
What do you think of these average prices, do they vary a lot in the area where you live?
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