Argentina will have more than 2,000 products with frozen prices

Inflation is resolved with an orderly fiscal policy, with the accumulation of reserves, with work with the chains of widespread input. The objective of this program is that when they go to the supermarket they know what things are worth”.

Sergio Massa, Minister of Economy in Argentina

The “Fair Prices” program of the Argentine government, with which they will try to contain a price increase, was made official last Friday. Through Resolution 823 and 75 published by the Ministry of Economy of Sergio Massa and the Secretary of Commerce of Matías Tombolini that depends on this portfolio.

“The “Fair Prices” Program is created in order to guarantee the sale to the final consumer of certain products at a fixed price or with a constant and previously agreed variation for a specific period that gives it predictability”, the measure provides in its first article .

With this new price regulation agreed with the companies, Massa wants to achieve an average inflation of 4% per month for the coming year to reach the goal of 60% annual increase set forth in the 2023 Budget.

As reported by the Palacio de Hacienda, “around 100 companies representing 86% of mass consumption in Argentina” will participate in this event, including: Molinos, Coca Cola, Unilever, Quilmes, Mastellone, AGD, Ledesma and Las Marías.

Supermarkets will also be able to participate with their own brand products, thus achieving a list of more than 1,500 products at a fixed price from different items such as grocery, dairy, cleaning, perfumery, personal care and hygiene, baby items, fresh produce and beverages.

As stated in Article 3 of Resolution 823, all parties “should constantly and uninterruptedly sell all the products they market at a constant price.”

This will apply to the months of November and December 2022 and January and February 2023. For now, it still remains to define which products with “fair” prices each company will offer, so details are expected after the signing of the agreements with each particular entity.

“The subscription of the agreements by the companies, within the framework of the “Fair Prices” Program, will imply their acceptance that the price of the listed products may not be modified during the months of November and December 2022 and January and February 2023″, the measure then remarked.

After the signing of the product agreements with businessmen and inspection agreements with various mayors, Minister Sergio Massa shared his words and remarked to the companies that “are still hesitating” to join “Fair Prices” that “they are going to lose market because Argentines are going to choose to pay prices that they know for their products”.

Regarding the details of the measure, he also raised the number of articles from 1,500 to 1,788 and announced: “Surely next week, when the scheme is finished, there will be 2,000 or a little more.”