Is the coffee finished? warn that the situation is critical due to the import trap

The lack of toilet paper and other products complicated by import restrictions, now the coffee has been added. The problem has been recurring since the first restrictions imposed by the Central Bank (BCRA) to preserve dollars a couple of months ago. But now the conflict has intensified with the new inventories: the import quota has been reduced for the sector. And the payment terms for the product have been extended, something that makes it very difficult to buy overseas.

For this, the coffee chains and coffee producers have warned him the supply is in jeopardy. It happens that it is an input that Argentina imports completely, (from Brazil and Colombia) and a commodity that has increased its price in the last year by 150%among other things, due to meteorological problems, which influenced the harvest.

“What you buy out of quota, set in dollars and not in volume (and set in reference to 2020, in full pandemic) must be purchased within 180 days and no one accepts these terms. So, we have to go out and look for funding abroad. These lines of credit are either expensive or directly inaccessible and make the product more expensive, ”commented an industry source.

Now, the sector is negotiating with the Central Bank through the Argentine Coffee Chamber and Copal, the camera that groups the food. In principle, we ask that temporality be “respected”, given that during the winter the importance is greater. Y that the payment term is reduced from 180 days to 60 or 90.

«The uncertainty is total. The stock varies in different places but in general we have stock for about 60 or 70 days and no more ”, assures Marcelo Salas, founding partner of the chain Martinez coffee. “Even though it’s coming little by little and we prioritize our franchisees, what we need isn’t coming.”

This company mainly imports coffee from Brazil and Colombia. Although he is now considering bringing it from Guatemala and Honduras. For now, it avoids, like the rest of the coffee chains and coffee producers, the bottleneck produced by import barriers.

In the local market, only the coffee beans are roasted, which are then ground and packaged by the producers. Clearly, the problem affects small roasters much more than large ones, ”says Salas.

According to Martín Cabrales, an important reference in the sector, “The matter will soon be resolved, even if in part it is because the Central Bank needs to be addressed,” he said. And he pointed out that, from his holding him, they are prioritizing their customers when it comes to coffee delivery.

In the industry, they exert the need to somehow alleviate the situation. We know it’s not a permanent solution, but we understand how difficult the situation is due to the lack of dollars. But we need the authorities to take into account the seasonality of coffee just as they have taken it into account for other sectors, “said another industry source.

“Today there is coffee, but stocks managed by the industry are critical, for some companies more than for others. Coffee is a raw material, it is not a finished or sumptuous commodity “, she concluded.