“We have to get through the summer”, companies are on alert for 2024 which will see them deregulated but with helmets on

Those who talk, discuss, advise and give their opinion, anticipate what will happen and agree that it will be “horrible months.” Almost a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Paolo Rocca, head of the largest industrial group, said it publicly and recommended being competitive with whom to replace it exports the decline in local demand, maintain strategic resources, maintain financial strength and defend the communities in which operations take place. “There will be tension,” he predicted.

steel production fell 10% in November, Automotive companies and auto parts factories have already anticipated this vegetable and festive stops to a greater extent than in other years. ““We have to spend the summer” They get excited. Others believe they won’t arrive this fall.

By the way, most companies are preparing for what is to come from a bittersweet December. The Coto chain launched three days of “digital nights” with 8,000 products including bazaars, textiles and household appliances, which got out of hand in a real frenzy.

“People’s money was burned” they mattered. Of course, that situation was fading with prices over the last couple of weeks have increased by 50%. The chain, which does not want to validate new increases. continues to struggle with suppliers who, in turn, do not deliver.

“January is approaching very coldly, the money has already been burned and now it’s not enough. Faced with this, creativity and the importation of cheaper products to be close to the people”, they have included what also seems to be a bargaining chip with those who supply them.

Another chain, Chango Más, owned by Francisco de Narváez, who took over Wal Mart and is already the fourth largest, has just opened 1,000 square meters in Campana and is trying to compensate for lower sales with higher arrivals in different locations. They fight because they don’t want to give up the market position achieved in recent years.

The fact is that, together with the fair prices, which Alberto Fernández left at the mercy of the large chains, self-service and warehouses They lost between 30 and 40% participation. “There are no longer regulated prices and we will assert our purchasing power,” they said.

In the meat processing industry they are already experiencing consumer pressure to the point that, when the government proposed a voluntary basket of popular price cuts, they quickly resolved the problem. The values ​​that have skyrocketed They have already declined at the wholesale level due to the sharp decline in consumption.

In this sector they are determined to export more, but are punished by a low international price. And in the internal market they say that unfair competition abounds, in a sector where there is tax evasion scratches the billion dollar mark.

Even the laboratories, now at free prices, expect a drop in sales and a probable non-payment by public and private suppliers. Remedies skyrocketed by 211% in the year and Cilfa, which groups together those with national capital, claim the impact of the devaluation was “352.30% much higher than the increases”. There They complain about the deregulation decree which allows them to prescribe much cheaper generic drugs.

There is talk of “overdue trade debts with foreign suppliers which in the future will have to be paid with a significantly higher dollar. And PAMI prices are absolutely obsolete compared to market values.” Will there be further increases?

In construction the works are already paralyzed as happens every year from December 25th to January 6th. Of course, this time they believe they will no longer resume the ongoing public works.

Gustavo Weiss, head of the House, went on a pilgrimage in search of answers and definitions. Half of the 550,000 daily workers work in national, provincial and municipal works. He had no response and “private work not only cannot absorb the public brake, but there is not even funding”, he observed.

The good news comes from the field. Soybean, corn, sorghum and sunflower harvests are progressing at a very good pace and prices remain stable. It is certain that this year it will raise 35 billion dollars more. Happy 2024!