Brazil’s leftist president recently told the country’s citizens not to purchase expensive grocery items in an effort to combat soaring food prices. 

In a video being shared online, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva urged Brazilians to be frugal when grocery shopping. 

“If you go to the supermarket in Salvador and you suspect that a certain product is expensive, don’t buy it,” he said. “Look, if everyone thought like that and didn’t buy things they thought were expensive, whoever is selling is going to have to lower the price in order to sell it.

A salesman at a vegetable stand at a supply center in Brasilia, Brazil, May 9, 2023.  (Reuters)

In January, Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said he expected food prices to decline this year due to strong agricultural production.

Prices tend to stay at high levels until food production “corrects this price distortion to an adequate level,” he told a local news outlet. 

Haddad added that officials predict Brazil’s economy will grow 2.5% in 2025, slowing from an expected 3.5% last year.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva attends a ministerial meeting on plans to support Rio Grande do Sul state, which was affected by floods, at the presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil, May 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

“I believe we have room to grow 2.5% by reducing inflation,” he told RedeTV, according to Reuters.