With great fanfare and in the midst of the crusade to try to curb inflation, the government has sent invitations to companies, manufacturers and businesses to relaunches this Friday at noon an expanded version of Fair Pricesin an act that will take place this Friday at the CCK, and which will be presided over by the Minister of the Economy, Sergio Massa, and the Secretary of Commerce, Matías Tombolini.
The program, which runs through June, includes a new basket of 2,000 consumer products, whose prices will be frozen for 4 months. Initially, it will focus on around 15 items, including textiles, footwear, electronics, workshops and building materials, and provides for maximum increases of 3.2% per month. Thus, an attempt is made to trace “a price path”, according to the official jargon.
Tombolini has reformatted an instrument, born in 2014 with the Precios Cuidados brand and which has changed composition over the years, always with very mediocre results. With the patronage of Massa, Prizzi Giusti managed to add more than 400 companieswho joined the program with the promise of deliver dollars from reserves to pay for imports.
The government, therefore, insists on the same recipe to curb prices. Close to Tombolini argue that is not the only thing. “Once the fiscal and reserve accumulation targets are achieved, we understand that the conditions are in place to standardize all price agreements,” they underline. They allude to the multiple agreements previously agreed (clothing, medicines and mobile phones, among many others), which will now become part of Fair Prices.
The primary concern (hence the need for the ad) is the price increase in recent weeks. In December, according to INDEC, the cost of living increased by 5.1% and 2022 closed with 94.8%, the highest record in the last 32 years. Private advisors estimate another hike for January (between 5 and 6%), which challenges Massa’s forecast (less than 4% in April) and the 60% threshold for the full year foreseen by the Budget Law.
The negotiations for the relaunch of the program coincide the controversy over the intervention of truck drivers or pro-government piquetero groups in price control and procurement operations in supermarkets. There are also crosses and quarrels between the chains and the producers for the low level of compliance with the programme, especially in the category of mass consumption.
For the government, there is a 70% shortage. This is that out of 10 products, only 7 are actually on the shelves. But qualified sources from the supermarket ensure that the level of supply is on average 45%. This does not only concern the basket of 2,000 frozen products from December (which will be replaced by others). Because Tombolini has demanded that the chains refuse increases of more than 4% per month. Now the guideline drops to 3.2%.
“The shortage is widespread. The products are there, what is noticeable is the lack of variety”, say the chains and recall that the level of shortage is the highest since Precios Cuidados was born, which debuted in 2014. The owners of the gondolas accuse the producers not having complied with orders. And suppliers say they can’t cope with overheated demand precisely because the products are the cheapest on the market.
Source: Clarin
