In the last month of 2022 the tourniquet was further tightened on imports they would only add US$5,380 million, 13% less than in the same month of 2021. The curb on foreign purchases is the recipe chosen by the government to cushion the outflow of foreign currency. Although last year’s exports were record-breaking, dollars are still not enough to cover the multiple fronts of the local economy.
The official foreign trade record for December will be released on January 19. Based on previously known data on tax collection, IERAL calculates that imports for that month would reach $5.38 billion, down 13.4% year-on-year.
This is the largest adjustment in the industry for the year. In mid-2022, imports were growing by 45% a year. “There has been a change of pace of 58.4 percentage points in just one semester”, underlines Ieral.
Outside purchases totaled $5.75 billion in November, down 0.3% year-on-year. The monthly peak occurred in June with 8,664 million dollars. The growth rate for the year was 34%.
It is estimated that in 2022 exports reached 90,000 million dollars and thus set a historical record. Despite this, and as the country has virtually no other source of foreign currency, exchange restrictions continue to multiply.
The tourniquet on imports means that most applications for import authorizations through SIRA – the operation established by the Government – are blocked. And in cases where the endorsement is obtained, there is a delay of up to 180 days in the period in which the Central Bank sells them the dollars in order to carry out the operation.
This means that the debt that the Central accumulates with importers already reaches 9 billion dollars.
A report by the consulting firm Abeceb spells it out in the final goods there are obstacles to the import of toys, tyres, spare parts for the automotive sector and luxury goods.
“In the field what is worse is the chemical sectorwhich has delays in approving the SIRA and also has a lot of goods stuck at the port,” Abeceb says.
“Those fared a little better are the companies that have joined Fair Prices, as the agreed commitment to issuance of foreign currency would have been met there,” they point out.
In the case of automakers, “there are some companies with problems, even if the situation is heterogeneous and is being resolved on the fly”.
The situation is also critical in services. “In November and December almost nothing was approved. Only now some mechanisms are being oiled. But if this continues, more conflicts are to be expected in the short term due to exporters losing business.” According to Abeceb, this affects payments for engineers, professional services, software companies and continuous processes, among others.
From the Federation of Associations and Chambers of Elevators of the Argentine Republic they warn that “the severe restrictions on imports, due to the continuous obstacles exercised jointly between the BCRA, the AFIP and the Secretariat of Commerce, gradually and relentlessly it will cause elevators to stop due to lack of spare parts“.
“The small supply of spare parts today it is priceless because suppliers do not know at what price they will be able to replace it given the uncertainty in the import mechanism”, they specify.
Also from the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Metallurgical Industrialists and Components of Córdoba (CIMCC) they expressed “their concern for the continuity of the problems that Argentine industrialists face to continue producing, despite having sought and managed channels of communication with the competent authorities in the pursuit of finding workable solutions, in the framework of the current crisis”.
In Cordovan’s room they specified that until last week “SIRA’s approval rating was less than 30% which raises a very worrying picture. The delays in the deadlines and in the approval of the permits continue to generate stops in the production lines”. And they ask for a hearing with the minister Sergio Massa to resolve “the inconveniences of this crisis”.
AQ
Source: Clarin
