I am guessing that the price of things varies more in Mexico in part because news doesn’t travel as fast. You have to wonder how small tiendes (stores) or mercado merchants set their prices – probably as much word of mouth as anything.

I have actually reasoned (done the math) with friends operating small stores showing they are not making any pesos selling something – in some cases losing money and not even knowing it.

Yesterday as we walked around Coatepec discovering a couple antique stores (Mexicans don’t typically like to buy anything used), more coffee stores and even a new ice cream parlor.

The owner/operator of the ice cream parlor was a middle aged new mother with a very young baby on the floor of the rather starkly appointed new ice cream store. We don’t normally eat ice cream; cold fat in the stomach is not the best food for you. We decided to try a small cup of the homemade ice cream. Apparently Coatepec has some reputation for excellent ice cream.

The pleasant proprietor was rocking her baby’s plastic cocoon carrier with her foot while talking with us about her one week old business. Her husband has been in business operating an ice cream cart that is pushed around the area. She had been working for 80 pesos a day (less than 8 US dollars). She thought she might make more with the little shop.

It was busy with several customers while we were there chatting and eating our 8 peso per small cup of ice creams. We figured she has already made a half days former wage in the time we were there (of course gross receipts).

In lieu of a computer, almost universally these entrepreneurs have a spiral notebook where they enter each sale. She explained she would know better what is more popular in flavors, and of course whether the enterprise was working. I always imagine what these people could do with a computer, an Excel spreadsheets or an even a more detail laden data base program.

We wished the new mother and business owner great luck and walked on. In the Mercado we found nice Roma tomatoes for 5-6 pesos a kilo whereas just the day before we saw 12 peso Roma’s at Chedraui (our local Super market chain). Also the getting ever more expensive avocadoes that were 38 pesos a kilo ($3.60 US) at Chedraui were 28 pesos in the Mercado. This works out to about 50 cents US per medium avocado where three years ago they were 20 cents each.

Any bread product has gone up 30-35% in the last few weeks. Tortillas the Mexican staple have gone from 4 to 7 pesos over the last couple of years. All this while salaries have barely budged from three year ago rates.

My friend Vicente works at the Coke bottling distributor loading palettes of the ever popular coke line. He has not had a raise in two years; in fact the performance expectations have become increasingly higher while paying less for more work. Coke does have computers. They do work studies pushing the workers based on time studies.

All this is not a lot different than what is going on NOB – but as I began this piece with a careful shopper has still better opportunities theme. The last time I left the States one orange was about 75 cents at the low end. In the city around here you can buy 4 oranges (about a kilo) for 15 pesos – but in the Hood we can get 4 kilos or 16 oranges for 10 pesos (95 cents). Keep in mind they drive these oranges to your door – weigh them with a scale and bag them up. Eventually the word will get out and we won’t see such generous prices I think.

I found a note from a few years ago where we were buying 5 kilos of oranges for 10 pesos (the exchange rate was about 5% better then as well).

Electronics are still more expensive here – bring your computers, sound equipment and televisions from the U.S. This weekend I will sell my fifth laptop here in Mexico and buy new in the US when we return – always makes someone looking for more power for less happy and me well as I get a new computer every year.

There are still deals to be had in Mexico as compared to the U.S – but inflation is rampant. I will fill in the blanks to the rest of the story when we get back to the states in June where I will know better how prices have increased there – we will see where inflation has taken the US in 8 months. Stay Tuned for the rest of the story.