2023-10-18 17:53:00
mass consumption fell 14.9% in September and collapsed in the first weeks of Octoberwith a deep contraction of the 23,2% compared to the same periods last year. This was revealed by the consultant Focus Market. This data It emerges from the analysis of 3.5 million tickets.
Regarding the regions, the most affected was Metropolitancomprised of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the GBA, where it took place a drop of 16.6% in Septemberhalf a hundredth below what was recorded in August, and 24.7% in the first days of October. For its part, the setback in the Interior was hardly milder: 22.7% in these first weeks of the month.
Regarding consumption per family, All annual accumulated indices have suffered significant fallsbeing Personal Care more significant, with a 13,2%. They follow him Cleaningwith a 10,9% loss, Foodscon 9,1%y Drinkswith a 5,1%.
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This is known in the run-up to the presidential elections on October 22 and following different measures carried out by the Minister of Economy, as well as the presidential candidate of Union for the Homeland, Sergio Massa, in the midst of the current economic crisis, with a poverty of 40.1% and indigence that reaches 9.3% of the population.
“Despite the attempt to compensate for the loss of purchasing power of Argentines’ income with bonuses, salary improvements, retirements, pensions, social plans and credit expansion, The measures failed to positively impact domestic consumption“, he pointed Damian Di PaceDirector of Focus Market.
The causes of the fall in consumption
This collapse is strongly linked to the devaluation applied in Augustthe present exchange rate volatility, which has deepened in recent weeks, and how all this has had its effect on prices, mainly of food and basic necessitiesaffecting especially the most vulnerable people.
This can be seen reflected in the latest updates of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) disclosed by the INDEC, 12.4% in August and of 12.7% in Septemberbeing both not only record numbers since the last hyperinflationbell of two digits consecutively and unpublished too from that uncontrolled situation with prices experienced in the early 90’s, among other stages of Argentine economic history.
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“The current inflationary acceleration occurs in a framework where Many prices in the economy begin to move on their own despite previous agreements. While Argentines try to advance purchases of durable goods, the same does not happen in mass consumption goods, where the middle and lower sectors They are having less economic and financial capacity to face the loss of the purchasing power of their income.“added the economist.
This inflationary pressure It is not being accompanied by the income factor. And, according to the latest scales prepared by the INDEC, Only the richest 10% of the population receives more than $280 thousand each month.
One of the worst drops in consumption since the pandemic
And all these variables have caused a drop in mass consumption, mainly from small and medium-sized businesses.
It is that the data established by the consulting firm Focus Market complement and continue the negative trend registered through the SME Retail Sales Index (IVMP) from Argentine Confederation of Medium Enterprises (CAME)who observed a year-on-year drop of 5.1% in September, the deepest since the pandemic of Covid-19.
The IMF projected a deep economic decline and higher inflation for this year
Another disturbing fact is that Of the last 15 months, the registration only increased in one: December 2022 (with an increase of 3.2%). From June of last year to the present, and with this one as an exception, the index always had a negative overallwhich deepened, especially, starting in March 2023, always going down compared to the previous figure.
“The curve has a slope that gets deeper. The fall is very strong. It is also alarming because of the items that fell the most, such as food and medicines.issues that cannot be missing in the homes of Argentines,” emphasized the Press Secretary of CAME, Salvador Femeniain dialogue with PROFILE.
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