Imports already exceed 14% the peak of the era of Mauricio Macri, pushed for consumer goods and appliances

Imports already exceed 14% the peak of the era of Mauricio Macri, pushed for consumer goods and appliances

Despite the faint monthly June recoil, The imports of the second quarter exceeded the registered peak during the Government of Mauricio Macri (2015-2019). The increase was verified in all types of products, although in percentage terms, the most consumer goods were mainly driven by a Boom in appliances.

Between April and June 2025, purchases abroad added about US $ 19,318 million. The figure exceeded 7.2% to that of the same period of 2018, in a context in which the economy also crossed a commercial opening process and still the activity did not accuse the bulk of the impact of the exchange crisis, which just had just unleashed.

Also, if the energy sector is excluded, The increase versus 2018 is even higher, of 14.1% (+U $ S855 million). This is explained by the maturation of Vaca Muerta and the construction of gas pipelines, which allowed to reverse the energy balance in recent years.

In those segments where there are possibilities of domestic manufacturing or where there is no aggregation of value in the country opinion is more divided; Some emphasize quality improvement and price reduction generated by imported articles, others emphasize employment and prejudices for the national industry, while there are those who try to make a balance between both positions, depending on the sector.

Imports of consumer goods are the ones that grow the most

In the consumer goodswhich are those that do not have any type of border transformation, imports They hit a 31% jump Regarding 2018. This implied a Additional consumption of US $ 668 million.

According to a detailed analysis of Federico Berninieconomist of the Interdisciplinary Institute of Political Economy (Iiep) of the UBAin this segment the main promotions were verified in appliances. Between frosts, washing machines and heater (which includes ovens, grills and plates, for example) consumed US $110 million more That in the record of Cambiemos.

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Source: Federico Bernini, based on INDEC data.

In parallel, the increases in imports of footwear, motorcycles and foods that do not occur in the country, such as bananas and avocados.

A recent founding work warned that there are 431.452 jobs at risk due to the commercial opening that the government is carrying out, without any measures that contemplate the affected sectors and jobs. Most of these labor sources are in the manufacturing industry; Within it, the most affected productions could be those of textiles, clothing, footwear, wood, furniture, and electronic products.

The entity acknowledged that commercial opening is important to promote competition, and thus innovation. However, they added that this must be accompanied by complementary initiatives, such as tax decrease, industrial policies, more sustainable exchange rate and policies for revenue support/labor reconversion for harmed people.

The automotive sector is the one that consumes the most currencies

Anyway, in terms of foreign exchange, The total variation of imports compared to 2018 was explained mainly for the highest purchases of auto parts (+U $ S558 million). On the contrary, the acquisition of finished cars was even lower than that of that moment (-U $ S327 million), although much higher than that of the second quarter of 2024.

Regarding the automotive sector, Bernini remarked that the local car production “is at a good level” (+4.2% against 2018), so in this area the commercial opening does not necessarily translate into a displacement of national manufacturing.

To the extent that import growth is due to absurd regulations I think it is healthy (consumers pay less and there are less income for some entrepreneurs). Then, if the exchange rate is unsustainably cheap, that can be harmful because you can damage companies that are competitive“The specialist in dialogue with this media deepened.

In addition, he added that regional governments can play an important role with industrial policies that “unite the geographic capacities or location of the sectors that lose employment with respect to those who win.”

In addition, the survey showed important increases in computers, fertilizers and pharmaceutical supplies.

Imports stabilized at a high historical level

This Thursday the Indec informed that Imports reached US $ 6,370 million in June. This value was 1.2% lower than Mayin unstacilities, which meant the second monthly setback to thread and generated the conditions for the highest commercial surplus of the year.

Gustavo Perego, director of the consultant Abeceb, told this media that the monthly decrease is not surprising, for three factors: 1) because during the first quarter many importers had advanced their operations, given the expectation of an exit of the stocks, 2) because the fiscal adjustment puts a roof to the demand, and 3) for the recent competitiveness gain that had the Argentine weight against the Brazilian real and the coins of other commercial partners.

In annual terms, however, a 35.9% leap (+53.2% measured in quantities) was verified. In this context, many analysts warn that purchases abroad are stabilized, but a high level in historical terms, as reflected in the comparison against 2018.

Source: Ambito

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