Peronist government sets maximum prices for mass consumer products in Argentina

The Ministry of Internal Trade of Argentina issued a resolution that establishes the temporary fixing of maximum consumer prices for producers, marketers and distributors of 1,432 mass consumption products in an attempt to contain an inflationary escalation.

The measure was known after a meeting with representatives of business chambers that represent food producers and supermarkets.

“The measure to roll back the prices of the products in question to October 1 and keep them in effect until January 7, 2022 was agreed by a large percentage of the representatives of the participating companies,” said a statement from the Ministry of Productive Development .

The agreed list of products includes items from both leading brands and products from small and medium-sized companies, the statement explained, noting that it covers the items of Warehouse, Cleaning and Hygiene and Personal Care.

Previously, the chamber that brings together the main companies in the Argentine food industry said that the government’s proposal to freeze prices could cause a lower supply of the sector and criticized the officials for considering it a unilateral decision.

The center-left government of the South American country is seeking to freeze prices to stop an escalation in inflation a few weeks before the mid-term legislative elections on November 14, where the ruling party is expected to lose ground to the opposition in Congress.

In September, consumer prices rose 3.5% and accumulated a rise of 52.5% in 12 months, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec).

“The argument that inflation accelerated due to the increases in the food and beverage products category loses sense since there are other divisions whose prices grow above the IBA Index and the General Index,” said Daniel Funesta de Riojana, president previously. of the Coordinator of the Food Products Industries (Copla).