news agency

Argentina reaches agreement to maintain product prices in an attempt to contain its inflation

The Argentine government reached an agreement on a voluntary basis with businessmen to maintain the prices of more than a thousand basic products of the family basket for 90 days, in an attempt to contain inflation, one of the highest in the world, with an accumulated of 37% until September.

“These 1,247 products with frozen prices are going to be an anchor for inflation,” declared this Thursday the new Secretary of Internal Trade, Roberto Feletti.

According to the agreement, the prices of these products, corresponding to food and cleaning, should go back to October 1 and remain unchanged until January 7.

Feletti assured that “the response of the businessmen was favorable.”

“The fundamental thing is to stop the ball (curb inflation, ndlr) and ensure a quarter of high consumption,” said the official in statements to radio El Uncover.

This Thursday the National Institute of Statistics of Argentina reported that the inflation rate in September was 3.5%, which brought the interannual rate to 52.5%.

“Inflation in September seems to be above 3% and what I saw in October is not good either, so we bring prices back to October 1,” Feletti remarked before the index was released.

Two digits

Inflation is a persistent problem in Argentina, which has recorded double-digit annual rates for two decades.

This price agreement expands and reinforces the “Careful Prices” program that was launched in 2014 to establish reference values ​​of half a thousand basic products of the family basket, as an instrument to fight inflation.

The new price pact is adopted in the framework of street protests by social organizations demanding greater assistance and food subsidies in the midst of the economic crisis, which has 40% of the population in poverty.

Weeks ago the government resolved a 16% increase in the minimum wage to bring it to 33,000 pesos a month (US $ 317), less than half the value of the basic food basket for a typical family, according to Indec.

It also announced the payment from October of a supplement to family allowances that will benefit almost two million registered wage earners.

Argentina will hold legislative elections on November 14 in which the government struggles to maintain its majority in the Senate, with two years remaining in its mandate.

.

You may also like

Hot News

TRENDING NEWS

Subscribe

follow us