Martín Bidegaray
02/17/2020 - 21:34
- Clarín.com
- Economy
In the Executive Branch they consider that they are winning the battle of inflation. The 2.3% increase in the cost of living in January did not surprise them, because it was in line with what was expected in several ministries. And they attribute a quota of that achievement to "Care Prices." Therefore, they seek to extend it.
After the armed list for supermarkets, the Ministry of Productive Development - headed by Matías Kulfas - yesterday showed a new basket of products for wholesale chains. With this proposal, they want the products to be within reach of the self-services and warehouses that are supplied in that channel.
The proposal is smaller: it contains 59 products. There is oil, rice, coffee, noodles, cookies, jams, flour, mayonnaise, breadcrumbs, mashed potatoes, salt, vinegar, mineral water, soda and wine inside the warehouse. Diapers, powder soap, liquid beans, lavandina, dishwasher, grease, floor cleaner, toilet paper, kitchen roll, fabric softener, conditioner for clothes, cotton, deodorants, protectors and feminine towels are among the personal hygiene and cleaning items . The secretary of Commerce Paula Spanish was in the details of the preparation of the list.
The amounts that entered into "Care Prices" will have a 9% reduction with respect to the previous values . In the Government they assure that the scheme is thought so that self-services and warehouses can buy in wholesalers, and then dispatch to the public with certain margin of profitability.
"The objective is to reduce the dispersion generated by the inflationary process of 2019 and contribute to this in the general anti-inflation strategy that the government has been implementing since December and whose axis is the economic and social agreement," Kulfas said in a presentation made in the pink House.
"This improvement generates more territorial capillarity . It will allow those medium and small proximity businesses, which do not have a direct account with the suppliers, to have a price for these products, which then taken to the gondolas is the same price as the large ones chains, ”explained Spanish.
There are fresh foods, such as bread and dairy products, that did not enter into the agreement, since their suppliers - the strongest are Bimbo and Mastellone - negotiate directly with the wholesalers.
Some large brands, such as Coca-Cola or Quilmes, are present in "Care Prices" for supermarkets, but they got off the proposal for wholesalers. There are 200 wholesale outlets where you can get this proposal.
In the Government they were somewhat disgusted with Chinese self-services . They asked two chambers of the sector to make a list of "Care Prices" for that channel, but the proposals never came. The exit through retailers intends to cover that channel.
In Productive Development they are sure that food, which increased 4.7% in January, entered into a slowdown process that will deepen in February. The exam will be in March, as Marco Lavagna (Indec director) warns about seasonality. There could also be some outline of defrosting utility rates.
"Care Prices" went from representing 3.2% of supermarket sales in December 2019 to more than 9% in January this year . There are unusual increases: in certain categories, such as 207% growth in reggianito cheese, 183% in pasta, 107% in grass, 77% in herbs and diapers. With the particularity that the data are from January, which is usually the worst month in sales of the year for supermarkets, and compared against December, which is usually the best for chains.
Even President Alberto Fernández joined the crusade to control prices. Last Friday, when he announced the new retirement scheme, he stressed the importance of "Care Prices" and the power of consumers to verify compliance through the application on cell phones.
