Since December last year, the reduction of the currency gap due to the devaluation of the peso has brought benefits to some sectors of the economy, such as foreign trade or foreign investment. However, he tested negative the provincial economies that are in border areas with other countries.
There, consumption was heavily driven by foreigners, who were encouraged to buy the local products they had lower prices. But now, Argentina is no longer “so gifted”” and a growing number of products – especially fuels and mass consumer products – higher prices than in neighboring countries.
Particularly The NEA region is one of the hardest hit due to the change in the exchange rate relationship since then the purchases of Paraguayans and Brazilians They have come to acquire important weight within regional economies.
A report by IERAL (Mediterranean Foundation) used two relevant indicators to analyze cross-border trade: sales in supermarkets and those of petrol and diesel. In the case of supermarkets, it has been observed that in recent months sales have grown (in nominal terms) well below the food CPI across the region.
Comparing the month of January 2024 with the same month of the previous year, real sales (i.e. taking into account changes in inflation) recorded sharp drops in the province of Chaco (10.7%) and in the province of Corrientes (11.9%), but above all the falls in the province of Misiones (18%) and Formosa (29.8%) stand out.
The difference in mass consumption behavior was also reflected in the monitoring of the consultancy firm Scentia, which in the last year suffered a deeper decline in businesses (supermarkets and self-service shops) in of the interior of the country (-5.8%) compared to the AMBA (-09%) essentially due to lower demand in the border areas.
Regarding petrol and diesel sales, declines were recorded in all NEA provinces. Comparing the first month of the year with the previous one, the provinces most affected in the sale of petrol and diesel were the province of Formosa (10% and 3.1%) and the province of Misiones (20% and 9.7%).
According to the regional chambers some Brazilian customers “continue to come just for their favorite products always and for quality, such as wines, sparkling wines, whiskies, energizers, chocolates, dulce de leche, alfajores, olive oil and some fish and related products. Also some perfumery and cosmetic products”, they explain.
But, for now, too The smallest presence of Uruguayans is felt in the province of Entre Ríos. The influx of residents is “90% less” compared to a few months ago and this affects businesses, for example, in the city of Concord which, on the other hand, also adds a “low consumption” of the Argentines themselves in the area. The same goes for traders. Gualeguaychu, which in the last two years have benefited from buyers coming from Fray Bentos.
In the province of MendozaMeanwhile, the impact on the economy is significant as sales at Chilean tourists In that city they had an important role not only in trade but in the entire provincial economy. To the point that, last year, there was talk of the formation of a sort of ‘Province 25’ for the scale of operations linked to consumer products.
Now, this change in consumption patterns is also reflected in the turnover of hotels and gastronomic venues which have been the main beneficiaries of the shopping tourism of trans-Andean visitors. Today, however, according to the experience of travel agencies, it is more common to find them Shopping “tour” of Argentinians traveling to Chile take advantage of the price differences triggered by Argentine inflation.
SN
Source: Clarin
