03/15/2021 7:49 AM
Clarín.com
Economy
Updated 03/15/2021 8:06 AM
The fall in purchasing power and the rise in prices meant that the amount of monthly meat that can be bought with an average salary
is at historical lows
and does not seem to reverse trend.
According to calculations made by the IERAL institute of the Mediterranean Foundation, in January and February
the salary was
enough
to buy only 106 kilos of beef per month.
In 2020 the number had been 127.
Between July 2019 and January 2021, the price of wintering increased at a monthly equivalent rate of 6.0%.
The best record since 2005 was in 2017 when 159 kilos per month could be purchased
and since then there has been a marked decrease.
In 2018, it went to 156 kilos, while in 2019 it dropped to about 139 kilos.
The chief economist of the IERAL of the Mediterranean Foundation, Juan Manuel Garzón, said that
"the purchasing power of wages is low, not only against meat, but against all the goods of the economy
."
At present, the high prices of meat mainly respond to the return of Argentina to the international market, which had its correlation in a reduction of merchandise at the local level.
Juan Manuel Garzón considered that
"two factors are combining"
and pointed out that one is related to the fact that
"meat prices have risen a lot due to a relatively scarce
supply to supply both fronts, both internal and external."
He also assured that it is due to
"the firepower of wages against all assets"
, which is
"very deteriorated after three years of crisis
.
"
Garzón clarified that in 2010 there had been a sharp drop in the indicator, going from 148 kilos a month to 115, but in that case prices were high because meat production was "scarce."
According to the Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Meat and Derivatives of the Argentine Republic (CICCRA), in February the consumption of beef per inhabitant deepened the negative trend of 2020, reaching 49 kilos per year.
"Compared to the record twelve months ago, it experienced a 3.2% drop," the entity analyzed.
He stressed that if the comparison is made with 2008, the year in which there was a peak in domestic consumption, the fall last month reached 28.9%.
YN
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