The decline in consumption is exacerbated by the recession. A report by the consultancy firm Scentia shows a 12.5% year-on-year drop in mass consumption in June, accumulating a drop of 8.5% in the first half of the year, compared to the same period in 2023. Since Milei took office, consumption has fallen every month.
Self-service stores were more affected this month than chain supermarkets, falling by 14.6% year-on-year while supermarkets fell by 10.3%. In the first half of the year, the decline was 7% in self-service stores and 10% in chains. According to Scentia, sales also fell much more in the interior: 17.2 in the provinces, and 5.1 percent in the AMBA.
In both chains and self-service stores (Chinese and neighborhood), the biggest drop was recorded in impulse consumption, sweets and products located near the checkout (21%), followed by alcoholic beverages (19.6%), non-alcoholic beverages (16.2%), clothing and household cleaning products (12.4%), breakfast and snacks (12.1%), hygiene and cosmetics (11.3%), food (7.9%) and perishables (5.4%).
On the other hand, according to a report released this Wednesday by the Chamber of the Meat Industry and Commerce (Ciccra), beef consumption collapsed by 16.7% and had the worst record in 13 years. In the first half of 2024, consumption was equivalent to 44.7 kilos per inhabitant per year. Taking into account the month of June, it was the lowest in 19 years.
On July 5, the Rosario Stock Exchange had warned that by the end of 2024, with 44.8 kilos per inhabitant, it could be the lowest consumption in at least 110 years. A value well below the historical average of 72.9 kg and the 1920 level, with 46.9 kg per inhabitant per year.
The Rosario Stock Exchange report also indicates a change in the composition of the average inhabitant’s meat diet: 42% beef, 42% poultry and 16% pork. The proportion of beef is believed to have fallen by 3.5 percentage points compared to 2023. For the first time on record, the average inhabitant in Argentina will consume the same amount of beef as poultry in 2024 (around 44.5 kg).
It is necessary to confront the adjustment of Milei and the IMF
The policies of Milei and Caputo, in line with the demands of the IMF, are causing a brutal fall in the economy and consumption is plummeting due to the loss of purchasing power of wages. What’s more, this Wednesday the international organization worsened its forecast for the Argentine economy by 0.7%, predicting a collapse of 3.5% for 2024. Poverty and indigence are increasing and suspensions and layoffs are increasing due to the fall in economic activity, in addition to deregulation to give employers greater freedom to make labor contracts more flexible.
It is necessary for the trade unions to break the truce with Milei and call for a real plan of struggle with a general strike to confront the measures attacking the living conditions of the majority and our democratic freedoms.
Source: www.laizquierdadiario.com
