Silvia Naishtat
04/27/2021 19:04
Clarín.com
Economy
Updated 04/27/2021 19:05
Urged by an inflation that does not ease, on May 15 the Government
will launch the basket of essential prices
with a hundred products that include flour, rice, polenta, oil, herb, dairy products, coffee, some cleaning and hygiene products and dresser to name a few, whose prices will
remain frozen until the elections.
That is, November. And they will be offered in supermarkets, warehouses, supermarkets and wholesalers
across the country with the same value.
These products
will not have a label
that marks their value since the companies observed that the implementation is very difficult and that it would take time, at least 60 days.
On May 15, the current maximum price regime expires and the idea is to give it continuity with a smaller but more comprehensive basket.
"Make the effort,"
Secretary Paula Español tells them
,
eager that these prices remain unchanged until the elections.
The companies that participate in the basket of essentials are Unilever, Arcor, Molinos, Mastellone, Las Marias, Bimbo, Mondelez, Danone, Alicorp, AGD, Bunge, P&G, Molino Cañuelas and La Virginia, among others.
Eliminate maximum prices
As a currency of exchange,
the maximum prices
are
eliminated and the price
system remains with more than 600 products that are updated quarterly.
This new scheme germinates in meetings in which the representatives of the main mass consumption companies wander between the "reasonable" positions that they hear in the office of Minister Matías Kulfas to that of the "electrical" positions of the Secretary of Commerce.
Interns in the ministry
But apart from the
increasingly palpable differences
between the minister who is the boss and his subordinate,
the latest measures launched by the Government
stand out as an
escalation
.
One is the information system in which they put
sensitive data on suppliers and costs.
And the new obligation of
ask the Secretary of Commerce for authorization before launching a new product on the market
.
From Copal, the Chamber that groups food companies, they prepared administrative presentations.
It is in this climate that essential prices are made, as described by some of the companies to
Clarín
.
That they do recognize that the meetings with the officials take place in an atmosphere of respect and they emphasize it to mark differences with Guillermo Moreno.
"Spanish is vehement, many times it shocks but
never uses verbal violence," they
describe.
They detail with precision that each company of those summoned
will place about 3 to 4 products in that basket of essentials.
"We are willing to accompany,"
slipped the CEO of one of these firms requesting off the record.
According to his reasoning, breaking out of maximum prices is a
relief after keeping dozens of products in his portfolio frozen
for more than a year.
For example, common flour, under maximum prices, rose
3.9% in the year compared to inflation of 36.2%.
Or foods like asado, the most popular cut of meat that
doubled in price.
Another manager of a food company exemplified to this newspaper what happened with sunflower oil that is offered to the public at a price that is
not enough to buy the raw material
.
"Spanish understands it," they highlighted.
A notable difference with the current pricing regime is that in addition to
supermarkets
and wholesalers,
distributors who reach out to retailers, the warehouse and the self-service
are incorporated
. The Government seeks that the basket of essentials is offered throughout the country at the same price. On the business side, they are already making calculations about
how much they will have to sacrifice.
The distributor is another link that adds margins, unlike what happens to them with super or wholesalers with whom they agree directly.