He Import debt stock reached US$46,434 million in the first quarter of 2024, 49.9% more than in the same period last yearThis explained most of the increase in private external debt, both in year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter terms.
According to a report published this Thursday by the Central Bank (BCRA) between January and March The total private external debt was US$106.815 billionwhich implied an increase of US$2.408 million regarding the period October-December 2023 and US$18.487 million compared to the same quarter last year.
He 75.7% The year-on-year increase in private liabilities in question was explained by the higher commercial debt, particularly of importing companies.
In one year, the debt of these firms climbed US$15.450 millionand the increase compared to the previous quarter represented about US$1.851 millionIt should be noted that the rest of the purchases abroad were paid with dollars purchased from the CCL.
In this way, the debt ratiowhich arises from dividing the average of the last year of the external debt for imports on the imports of goods of the last 12 months, was located at 61.7% reflecting an increase of 8.9 percentage points in the quarter.
It is worth remembering that, with the aim of providing relief to reserves, last year the Ministry of Economy led by Sergio Massa and the BCRA coordinated the postponement of payments on purchases abroad. The ratio of actual import payments to actual imports fell from almost 90% in March 2023 to just 17% in Decemberfirst month of Javier Milei’s management.
Then, the monetary authority established through the Communication “A” 7917 the conditions for access to the Free Exchange Market (MLC) for the payment of imports of goods and services that are processed from December 13, 2023. It established a tiered system according to the type of good or service: immediate access to foreign currency for hydrocarbons and derivatives and electric energy, 30 days for pharmaceutical products or inputs from that sector, fertilizers and phytosanitary products and 180 days for cars.
The Central Bank recently announced that, starting August 1 of this year, the deadline for cars and luxury goods will be reduced to 90 days, while for the rest of the goods, the deadline will no longer be four installments but two.
According to the entity headed by Santiago Bausili, In the first quarter, US$1.2 billion of commercial debt was cancelled through the purchase of dollars in the CCL, an operation that, starting in March, involved a net cancellation of this liability.
Source: Ambito
