As part of the negotiations to relaunch Fair Prices, The government tries to recycle a recipe to reach local businesses with this program, a channel covering Chinese supermarkets, department stores and neighborhood businesses. The idea is to create a basket containing between 40 and 60 basic items with prices similar to those offered by supermarkets.
Both Paula Español and Roberto Feletti, the first two secretaries of Commerce in the government of Alberto Fernández, had already tried without success. No exact date or scopethe official who heads this office, Matías Tombolini, entered into negotiations with producers and wholesale chains go ahead with this new attempt.
In parallel, it renegotiates the agreement for fair prices, which expect increases of up to 5% per month for the next 90 days for a universe of 25,000 consumer products. This “price trail”, which until now it was 3.2%it would be in effect from this month until the end of July, according to official and private sources.
The foundations for the continuity of the program emerged a few days before INDEC announced April inflation, which according to private consultants would be between 7% and 8%.
Last month the cost of living rose by 7.7% (the highest change since 2002), but food was one of the elements with the highest average incidence. This set of products so sensitive within the general household expenditure, amassed a 9.3% increasethis is triple the guideline established by Precios Justos.
The inflationary escalation of recent weeks has favored the increase in costs for producers and suppliers. In order to neutralize complaintsTombolini offered them two things. On the one hand, he authorized a 3.8% increase in the basket of 2,000 frozen items since February; and, on the other hand, to grant two raises (3.2% at the start and a further 1.8% from about 20) for the remainder, all in exchange for ensure normal supply to large chains.
Shortage is one of the axes of the open struggle for the renewal of the Just Prices. He also cares “the stampede of last-day prices that are not justified”, which the government aspires to be withdrawn. From a business perspective, “the bigger concern is difficulty importing inputs produce before prices”, he confided to clarion an industrial source.
The companies are not entirely clear on the final proposal. “It seems to me that the main concern is the price gap between supermarkets and the traditional channel (shops, neighborhood businesses and self-services)”, they point out. Hence the proposals to form a basket of products supplied by producers to be distributed through wholesalers.
It is the third attempt to extend Fair Prices to local businesses, but the Government itself admits the difficulty of reaching an extremely fragmented channel. The initiative is an exact replica of “Super Close”, launched in 2020, and “+ Precios Cuidados”, from 2021who have never managed to bridge the price gap with the big chains.
Source: Clarin
