Tires are one of the scarcer products on the market.
The tightening of stocks on imports has increased fears of a possible shortage of products. The list of items is extensive and, in some cases, such as tires, shoes, clothing, tools and building materialsis compounded by the uncertainty caused by the latest restrictions placed by the Central Bank for shortage of dollars.
Although large importers have not yet taken concrete action, some distributors are delaying sales and order deliveries due to lack of certainty.
“We warn that due to the abrupt restrictions imposed by the BCRA, through the new exchange regulations and the blocking of private imports in the official market, the sale is temporarily suspended“, a sanitary ware wholesaler communicated to its customers via Whatsapp.
Similar messages have been circulating since this Monday, in which changes in the billing conditions or in the dispatch of goods have been notified until the landscape is clarified. The blockade of the importer had another news yesterday: announced the new customs director, the massista Guillermo Michel it will strengthen controls on imports of electronics, textiles and machinery to avoid overloading maneuvers.
The official explained that from now on shipments of this type of goods will go through the “red channel” to check if the declared prices coincide with the market value. “The temptation produced by the gap between the official dollar and the CCL is very great and there are many who take risks,” explained Michel in radio statements.
The outlook is uncertain and many manufacturers fear there will be shortages in items such as electronics, motorcycles, auto parts and bicycles. All from the A7532 resolution of the Central, which established that they will only be able to access the official dollarl companies that do not exceed 5% of what they imported last year. If this happens, they will have to go into debt at 180 or 365 days, depending on the type of product.
Laboratories and drugs they were exempted from the trap. From Central they explained Clarione that the modification of the regulations does not affect the sector, in particular the products determined by the Ministry of Health. However, the former Minister of Health of the Nation of Mauricio Macri’s government raised his doubts: he said that “it is difficult to discriminate what are the exceptions for each sector, but it is likely there will be shortages of some critical drugs and supplies if this crisis continues over time“.
As soon as the measures were known, consultations between sector chambers, companies and financial institutions multiplied to understand the new restrictions on imports. A clothing wholesaler and manufacturer confessed that the tightening of inventories does not surprise him and that his sector (textiles and clothing) has been in dire straits since last year. “I no longer sell wholesale because I don’t want to part with the merchandise,” he said.
A computer importer explained the reasons for this uncertainty. “You understand what they are looking for with the resolution, but implementation is uncertain“, he said. On the one hand, there are many doubts about the criteria that the Government will adopt regarding the maximum quotas, for example.” It is not yet known how the debts will be calculated, how much we will be able to import and under what conditions “, he listed. In any case, he made it clear that they will continue to deliver the goods while matters are cleared up.
Damiano Kantor
Source: Clarin
