This was confirmed by 31% of the companies consulted by the Chamber of Industry. The demand for the application of the “zero kilo” grows.
The Chamber of Industries of Uruguay (CIU) released the results of a study on the effects of exchange difference with Argentina and the smuggling in the sales of the commercial and industrial sector of the border areas, in the midst of their claim for a “zero kilo” policy and after the president’s resolution Luis Lacalle Pou to rule out this measure.
The exchange situation and the price gap at the border continue to generate controversy after the announcement of five measures to alleviate the negative effects of the exodus of Uruguayans that, day by day, can be observed on the international bridges that link the country with Argentina by land . In this sense, the CIU caused a stir by asking the Executive Branch to raise the control levels at the border to prevent the entry of merchandise.
However, the president’s refusal to apply this policy did not go down well with the industrialists, who decided to support their request with figures from the sector, through a survey of 87 companies. The document, prepared by the Directorate of Economic Studies of the union, reports a drop in sales of these companies.
How did the companies and industries that work in the border areas respond?
The CIU survey revealed that sales decreased for 36% of the companies consulted regarding the average behavior of total sales in pesos in 2022. However, for 16% they remained stable and for 42% they grew. Compared to a specific analysis of sales to Argentina, the percentage of negative responses was 33%.
The relevant impact for the union was, meanwhile, in terms of the smuggling. The CIU posed a question: in the event that companies had reduced their total sales, how much could smuggling have had an impact on that behavior. In this sense, 31% responded that this illegal activity had an impact on the drop in activity.
Another query referred to the perception of the increase in smuggling so far in 2023, and 35% considered that it had grown.
In the opinion of industrial companies, the main source of smuggling is for reasons of proximity (53%), particularly in cities located in border areas, 37% answered that the entry channel for smuggled products was through criminal organizations and 3% answered that the reason was tourism.
Source: Ambito
