Argentina: Supermarkets prepare for new round of Price Controls

The President of Argentina, Mauricio Macri, is expected to announce on Wednesday the expansion of the “Precios Cuidados” program, which will determine the products and consumer prices affected by this price control measure. Several supermarkets say they are waiting to know what these products will be, because they still do not know the official strategy, said the Executive Director of the United Supermarkets Association, Juan Vasco Martínez.

Martínez was in support of the price control scheme, considering that its expansion in the context of high inflation (53% annual) could help reactivate consumption and help the industry.

The Precios Cuidados plan was first launched by the government of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner on January 6, 2014, also within a context of high inflation. The Kirchner administration has continued to expand this program.

Some critical voices have criticized the measure, saying it does not deal with the real problem in the sector. “Prices will not go down or stop going up … until they end the monopolies and cartelization that exist today… there is more cartelization than in public works,” said Victor Fera, owner of the supermarket chain Maxiconsumo, and urging the head of the Commission National Defense of Competition, Esteban Greco, to take further action in this regard.
Full Content: Vía País

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