Agencia de Gobierno Electrónico y Sociedad de la Información y del Conocimiento

24 – Participatory and collaborative construction of product baskets in the Consumer Price Information System

Brief description of the commitment: the basket of products reported by the provisions of the Consumer Price Information System (SIPC) will be updated through public consultation, with the purpose of incorporating products and generating baskets that reflect, more representatively and equitably, the consumption habits and restrictions of the population, such as people with celiac disease, diabetes, children or elderly people, among others.

Organization that leads the commitment: Consumer Protection Unit – Ministry of Economy and Finance (UDECO-MEF)

Responsible for the commitment: Álvaro Fuentes, Director. Contact: alvaro.fuentes@consumidor.gub.uy

Technical Manager: Pedro Sgaravatti, Advisor. Contact: pedro.sgaravatti@consumidor.gub.uy

Actors

1. Government: Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), Metropolitan Agri-food Unit (UAM), Ministry of Health (MSP), Ministry of Social Development (MIDES), National Institute of Statistics (INE), National Institution for Human Rights and Ombudsman (INDDHH).

2. Civil Society: Uruguayan Celiac Association (ACELU), Uruguayan Diabetic Association (ADU), Uruguayan Institute for Economic and Social Promotion (IPRU), Uruguayan Consumer Network. 

3. Other actors: General public, Faculty of Engineering, Institute of Economics of the Faculty of Economic Sciences, Department of Economics of the Faculty of Social Sciences, press, supermarkets and the private sector in general.

Implementation period: November 2025 – December 2026.

Problem definition

What problem does the commitment intend to address?

The SIPC (Integrated Consumer Price Index) is a public tool that benefits consumers, allowing them to learn about and compare product prices before making purchasing decisions. It also serves as a resource for academia and policymakers. However, these days, this tool lacks population-based perspective, fails to recognize the diverse needs and vulnerable groups across the country, and provides limited product information.

Today, the system reduces the possibility of comparing the "price" of products among different commercial establishments. This is a limited perspective if, when comparing consumption alternatives from a cross-cutting view of consumption needs, the citizen-consumer can use this system to learn, not only where to find the most convenient price for their products, but also to compare the characteristics according to their needs.

What are the causes of the problem?

The SIPC was designed without a population-based approach or consideration of the diverse needs and profiles of consumers (age, gender, consumption restrictions). Furthermore, over time, consumers change their habits, substituting products in response to price fluctuations or new needs or habits.

Description of the commitment

What has been done so far to solve the problem?

Given the need to know the prices of products not included in the SIPC (Integrated Consumer Price Index), surveys were conducted outside the system, both in person at stores, and on websites, with limited territorial and temporal coverage. The incorporation of some of these products has been considered, but no progress has been made, since a comprehensive assessment is still pending.

As an example, in 2024 a survey and analysis of the price gap between products suitable and unsuitable for celiac sufferers was carried out, where the results showed a clear penalty (or overprice) for those consumers who have restrictions in their consumption possibilities, which highlighted the need to deepen and generate more and better information enables a better and more effective public policy.

What solution does it propose?

The proposal is to incorporate new products into the SIPC in a participatory and collaborative manner with citizens, civil society organizations, academia and other state agencies.

Also, evaluate the feasibility of incorporating classification seals of octagons, suitable for celiacs, suitable for diabetics, and aspects that are of interest and use to society into the product presentation.

Also, a new feature that allows generating specific sets or baskets by consumer profile, for example, a women's basket, a senior citizen basket, products suitable for celiacs, suitable for diabetics, etc.

Periodic reports will be made on this new information, emphasizing the profiles incorporated into the SIPC.

What results do we want to achieve by implementing this commitment?

The Expected resultss are multiple and varied, and have an impact both on citizens and on strengthening the institutional capacities, improving methodologies and tools for price analysis from a consumer protection perspective.

This process will strengthen the SIPC with an inclusive approach, which will allow the generation of reports with a novel perspective and will constitute a relevant input for the design of fairer and more humane public policies.

Adequate and timely information will be made available for the people so that they can make their consumption decisions, comparing alternatives in terms of price and features.

Updating the technological infrastructure to allow for easier updating of product listings, attributes, and other data in the SIPC.

Moreover, it is expected to encourage greater use of the tools available to the State.

Commitment analysis

How will the commitment promote transparency?

The SIPC commitment will promote market transparency and access to information by making disaggregated data available to all citizens, broken down by specific products and by thematic basket (general, celiacs, diabetics, senior citizens, etc.).

Citizens will have tools to explore price trends for specific products by location, establishment, and time period. Additionally, the SIPC has a web application that allows users to compare the prices of collected products in real time.

This will also contribute to generating relevant input for academic and public discussions regarding price gaps between food baskets, trend comparisons, potential anomalies and patterns, facilitating debates with up-to-date information. This is particularly important for sensitive discussions such as access to food suitable for populations with dietary restrictions or, more generally, for citizens who require the consumption of specific products.

It is expected to include public consultation in order to increase transparency in the creation of food baskets and the selection of products through participation, thereby validating their social relevance. It is expected for each contribution received to be recorded along with the institutional evaluation, documenting why each proposal was included or rejected, which will strengthen the legitimacy of the design process of the basket.

The interpretation and use of SIPC open data regarding the impact on consumer problems, will contribute to a better and more efficient public policy on consumer rights, improving the transparency and efficiency of markets.

How will the commitment help foster accountability?

Having more and better information available to the population can facilitate the creation of concrete social demands in terms of public policy, while the state can address the evidence for the evolution of existing policies, focusing on inclusion, food security and health.

How will the commitment improve citizen participation in defining, implementing, and monitoring solutions?

The participation of civil society and academia through the public consultation mechanism is a way to ensure the relevance of the information gathered for the diversity of groups that comprise it.

In addition, the use of SIPC information will be promoted as a consumer information tool, both in its web version and app.