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4-person family in Puerto Rico will spend $200+ on ‘emergency basket’

A four-person family in Puerto Rico will spend an average of $203.09 for the basic items it should have in a five-day “emergency basket” ahead of this year’s hurricane season, the Puerto Rico Department of Consumer Affairs confirmed.

The agency known as DACO said a six-person supply will cost an average of $287.37, $375.36 for eight people and $480.19 for 10 people. The prices were calculated during a visit to stores on June 18-21.

The agency updated prices as part of its market monitoring strategy, DACO Secretary Edan Rivera-Rodríguez said.

The basic items in the “emergency basket” includes several food groups, such as: prepared and ready to eat cereals, rice, bread and cookies; fresh or canned vegetables; canned fruit and juices; canned proteins (chicken, ham, tuna, salmon, sardines, corned beef, sausages, and others); and dairy (milk and cheese spread).

These products were included in a DACO Monitoring Order, to be able to closely follow the price behavior in the market and update the averages periodically, he said.

“We started this initiative in May, as part of DACO’s preparations for the hurricane season. We want to cover two bases; first, to inform consumers so that they can prepare and build their emergency basket and second, to make sure that there are no unexpected or unjustified increases when alerts or warnings of any atmospheric phenomenon arrive,” he said.

The agency’s calculations do not include other emergency items such as water, ice, gas, carbon, batteries and candles, which would add about $100 more to the average expenses.

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This story was written by our staff based on a press release.
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