A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Inflation is much lower than it was a few years ago, but that just means prices aren't increasing as fast, not that they're going down. Prices at the grocery store are still higher than they were before the pandemic, and along the U.S. southern border, some families find savings by grocery shopping in Mexico. Angela Kocherga reports.
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ANGELA KOCHERGA, BYLINE: In a brightly lit grocery store in Juarez, music sets a festive mood. Savvy shopper Diana Garcia (ph) is in the produce section looking for the best prices. The Juarez mother says she sees a lot of people from the U.S. buying groceries here.
DIANA GARCIA: (Speaking Spanish).
KOCHERGA: "And more are doing so," Garcia says, "because of the strong dollar-to-peso exchange rate." Stretching that dollar is a necessity for families coping with higher food prices on the U.S. side of the border. Cristina Castruita (ph) and her husband routinely shop in Juarez, which borders El Paso.
CRISTINA CASTRUITA: We've been doing it since the kids were babies, especially because the formula is half the cost in Mexico than it is in El Paso. And it's a better name brand, too.
KOCHERGA: Castruita says now she shops for cheaper brand-name laundry detergent for her boys, aged 8 and 10. Her oldest son, Alfredo (ph), chimes in with his own price-saving favorites.
ALFREDO CASTRUITA: A lot of fruits - they're bigger, less expensive. They taste better. The watermelon tend to be nicer.
KOCHERGA: Watermelons are allowed, but some produce is prohibited by the U.S. because it could carry agricultural pests. His mother says when it comes to fruit and other items, she likes the variety available in Mexico.
CASTRUITA: We buy a lot of things like yogurt because we have - not only is it cheaper, but we have really exotic and different flavors available.
KOCHERGA: The dairy section in most Mexican grocery stores is much larger. Other items the family buys...
CASTRUITA: We prefer Mexican ketchup also. And, of course, tortillas. We buy them in bulk and then freeze them.
KOCHERGA: Generations on the border have looked to Mexico for lower prices and a wider selection, and vice versa. Shoppers from Mexico also cross into the U.S. for certain items, including clothes and electronics. Tom Fullerton is a professor of economics at the University of Texas at El Paso.
TOM FULLERTON: That's sort of the holy trinity of retail economics, when consumers can have access to lower prices, better quality and more variety.
KOCHERGA: A survey by the city of El Paso just months before the pandemic found local residents spend about $352 million a year on groceries in Mexico. Fullerton tracks the border economic outlook in this region in an annual report. He expects higher U.S. tariffs to affect shopping behavior all along the border.
FULLERTON: From Brownsville all the way to San Diego, they'll cross the border and take advantage of lower prices as a consequence of what in effect would amount to a federal sales tax.
KOCHERGA: Beyond chasing cheaper prices, it's a way of life on the border. The kids get a haircut, the family enjoys a meal and time with other relatives, all in Mexico. Castruita says there are many reasons to spend an afternoon across the border.
CASTRUITA: To save myself some money, to expose the kids to their culture and just for fun. It's cheaper and delicious.
KOCHERGA: For NPR News, I'm Angela Kocherga in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
(SOUNDBITE OF HERMANOS GUTIERREZ'S "EL SOL AVENUE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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