The tech sector is going through a new wave of reselection. As a result of import inventories and the reinstatement of the 16% tariff on most notebooks, the prices of those devices so far in March have increased by up to 67%. This is indicated by a survey by the MRT (Market, Research & Technology) consultancy firm which it measured the evolution of the prices of the 50 best-selling models in the main distribution chains.
On the whole, “computer inflation” in the first three weeks averaged 13% (nearly double the expected cost of living for the whole month) But “The greatest increases are recorded in the products of international brands and of the latest generationunlike laptops assembled in the country, which have increased less or even decreased,” says Gastón García, analyst at MRT.
In the sector they agree that the reliefs have accentuated with the tightening of the barriers to imports. AND The situation has worsened with the 16% rate increase on finished notebooksentered into force on March 15, and affects global brands (Lenovo, Dell, HP, Asus and Acer), which concentrate 90% of the market. The remaining 10% is shared by local assemblers, including Newsan, Mirgor, Exo, PC Arts (Banghó) and Positivo BGH.
The MRT report distinguishes two phases. In the first, which runs from March 1 to 10, the price of an average laptop (imported and domestic) it went from $411,300 to $414,800, which represents an increase of 6%. In the second – from 10 to 20 – the value increased by another 7% e the ticket was approximately $441,000. However, throughout the period, some cutting-edge models from Apple, HP, Lenovo and Asus have raised their prices between 29% and 67%.
The one that rose the most was a Ryzen-powered Acer Aspire, which cost $189,000 through March 10 and jumped to $263,500 after the rate increase. There are other known cases, such as a MacBook Air (Apple), whose price increased by 58% in the same period: from $826,000 to $1.1 million. Several HP models see increases of 40%divided into 2 parts.
MRT analysis is based on the monitoring of published prices from specialized chains of around 500 different notebook models of almost all brands. Also compare the values based on your processor, which is a shared component on many computers and the most expensive. AMD’s Ryzen; M1 and M2, from Apple; and Intel’s I Core, Pentium and Celeron. In March, the increase averaged 17%, the report said.
On the market, opinions are divided on the increase in tariffs. However, they agree in pointing it out What is most worrying is the delay in authorizing the entry of goods into the country, whether they are components to be assembled or finished computers. “One way or another, the tariff issue can be resolved somehow. What has no solution is that you don’t have a product‘complained a senior executive of a multinational corporation.
In any case, they explain, stocks have been putting pressure on laptop prices since the middle of last year, and rising rates have complicated the landscape. “In the last 11 months – underlines Novoa – there has been the most notable jump in prices (in pesos) between June and July 2022 (average increase of 83%), due to the brake on the payment of imports and the resignations of Martín Guzmán and Silvina Batakis”.
The Government claims that the recent 16% increase in “imported” prices favors local integration and generates employment. According to IDC, nearly 788,000 notebooks were imported in 2022. “Of that total, 711,914 arrived finished and the rest were assembled in Argentina,” says Sebastián Novoa, an analyst at that consulting firm.
The participation of local brands has never been able to match the leaders. Without going any further, in 2012 -during Cristina Kirchner’s second mandate- brought the rate for finished notebooks from 16 to 35%, with which the national producers came to represent between 33 and 40% of the Argentine market. The Cambiemos government lowered it to 0%, in 2017, in effect until last week.
Currently, the problem of supplies also complicates the “educational” computers of the Conectar Igualdad program, which are financed with public funds. Novoa explains that “to date, 1 million units, which were due for delivery this year, are still behind schedule.”
Source: Clarin
