2023-08-23 23:03:52
Despite the announcement that an agreement was reached within the framework of the Fair Prices program, the Government continues without finding a course to stop the increase in the value of food, a situation that in the coming days might lead to more increases or shortages of products .
The tension, anticipated exclusively on Tuesday by La Voz, was also exposed yesterday in a harsh statement from the Food Products Industries Coordinator (Copal), which represents 34 sectors and 14,500 companies in the sector. “The food and beverage industry demands responses to the problems raised that threaten its production and supply capacity,” it said in the statement.
Basically, the Secretary of Commerce, now controlled by a trusted man of the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, but still under the command of Matías Tombolini, announced a new stage of the price agreement, but would not have the approval of the counterparty, the manufacturers.
Barely a dozen companies in Córdoba agreed to Fair Prices
This program establishes that from now on all products, and not just those included in a basket, should apply a monthly increase that reaches a maximum of 5% for three months.
“The renewal of the program under the intended conditions and without mediating a space for exchange is not viable,” said Copal, an organization chaired by Daniel Funes de Rioja, also head of the Argentine Industrial Union (UIC).
Last Friday, the portfolio in charge of Tombolini announced that 52,300 products might not increase more than 5%, and on Monday it insisted on that criterion by ensuring that more than 150 companies participate in the agreement. But in reality, according to Copal, Fair Prices does not have the signature of the companies.
“He met with us, but no one signed,” was the statement of a senior executive with access to those negotiations.
The Government “has announced a new scheme of price guidelines that companies have had to abide by in order to continue supplying, but that in no way works on a firm basis, much less on the principles of a voluntary agreement,” warned Copal.
Before this dissent, some companies had transferred lists with price increases of up to 25%, assuming the higher costs of the devaluation of the peso in the official exchange rate (22%) and previously accumulated tensions.
Those lists should go back to 5% per month but there are huge doubts regarding whether this will happen. The supermarket chains adhering to the plan should reject the lists with higher increases, but they are exposed to shortages and, from the start, to the reduction of payment terms.
Copal explained the tension as follows: “In the last three weeks alone, the main production costs have increased on average between 15% and 30%, compared to the proposed 5% price increase.”
Added to this are “parities above 140%” in the year and serious inconveniences in the input supply chain. “There are restrictions on the access and availability of raw materials, inputs, intermediate goods and final goods as the approval and due process of the Sira and Sirases (authorizations) is not carried out,” he added.
Here is the other knot of the problem that accentuates the uncertainty of large companies and SMEs. Fair Prices stands as a “carrot” to add the possibility of accessing imports, but this facility has not been fulfilled for weeks due to the lack of foreign currency to pay for them, which is added to the bulky commercial debt already contracted by companies abroad. .
In other words, this apparent incentive is no longer useful to companies and the tax benefit of avoiding the advance payment of Income Tax does not convince them either and it is even an issue that is not technically clarified by the accounting areas.
Copal once once more requested dialogue to try to direct the problem and avoid consequences that today seem difficult to overcome: price increases that are largely above 5% or stock outages in the supply. While either option would have consequences for companies, deteriorating conditions would leave them with no other alternatives.
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