The exchange gap with Argentina is compromising the economy of the border departments and that is why from the Border Commission of the Chamber of Deputies the legislators of broad front decided to promote a bill –already presented in 2021– to protect women areas most affected by the price difference.
The most committed departments are Artigas, Salto, Paysandú, Río Negro, Soriano and Colonia, and that is why from the Broad Front they insist that some of the measures proposed by the bill “Comprehensive Protection of Border Areas” be carried out, presented in October 2021 without obtaining any progress in this regard.
The Frente Amplio deputy for the department of Soriano, Enzo Malan Castro, demanded in their social networks that some of the measures proposed by the bill be taken into account. “We demand the immediate execution of some proposals, such as the increase in the discount on the sale of fuel at border service stations and the implementation of micro-imports, effective measures for the development of border policies,” the deputy tweeted.
On the other hand, he stressed that it is necessary “the implementation of public policies for the generation of employment, tax exemptions for MSMEs, incentives for local commerce and the creation of institutions that promote public-private integration.”
A hopeless survey
In mid-April, the National Chamber of Commerce and Services (CNCS) presented a survey of merchants in the border areas where the 47% estimates that its level of sales in real terms will remain stable in the first quarter of the year; he 41% think they will increase; and the 12% which will decrease.
One of the points discussed during the presentation of the results of the CNCS survey was the dollar and, consequently, the difference in prices with Argentina, which directly affects local trade; especially at the border.
In this sense, the entity’s technical team indicated that the dollar is expected to maintain its “weakening trend” against the Uruguayan peso during 2023, despite multiple efforts to revalue the foreign currency and make the Uruguayan economy more competitive. For December, a dollar of around 41 pesos is projected.
In this sense, during the first month of the year there was a price difference of 144% between Leap and Concord, according to the observations of the UCatholic University of Uruguay (UCU).
About, traders expect currency gap to worsenwhile a dollar is expected at 600 pesos in Argentina by the end of the year, which would generate an even greater difference, taking customers away and encouraging smuggling at the border.
Source: Ambito
