MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday he will meet with food producers and distributors to discuss measures to tame inflation.
Lopez Obrador said in a regular news conference that he aims to make commitments with companies to prevent price increases for 24 basic items.
Some 20 firms will take part in the meeting.
Energy cost inflation is “under control” thanks to the subsidies implemented by the government, Lopez Obrador said, but rising prices in food items need to be addressed.
Mexican annual inflation rose to 8.70% in August, its highest level in nearly 22 years.
Data for August showed the category of food, beverage and tobacco prices rose 12.94% year-on-year, the steepest rise among the items considered for headline inflation.
Mexico’s national statistics agency INEGI will publish consumer price data for the first half of September on Thursday.
(Reporting by Valentine Hilaire and Ana Isabel Martinez; editing by Cassandra Garrison)
