The CNCS reported that transactions closed last year with an average decline of 2%.
Commercial sales fell in Montevideo and the coast, but grew in the east of the country.
The National Chamber of Commerce and Services (CNCS) today released its Quarterly Survey on the sales of the commerce and services sector, quantified in real terms. Sales in the fourth quarter fell 1.4% compared to the same quarter of the previous year, and completed the year 2023 with a 2% drop on average.
The Chamber discriminates between trade in goods and trade in services. In the first case, the annual decline was 1.8%, while in the case of services the annual decline was greater: 3.9%.
The business association’s report also differentiates the evolution of sales according to geographical area. It stands out that sales of commerce and services in Montevideo they fell 4.2 and 1.7% respectively. Inside, on the other hand, trade sales increased by 2.5%, while service sales fell by 3.9%.
The increase in domestic trade sales is fundamentally due to higher sales in the coastal and eastern areas. In fact, although when entering into the analysis of sales in the interior the report does not discriminate between commerce and services, it highlights that total sales in the eastern coastal area rose 3.3%, while in the coast They fell 4.7% on the annual average.
Behind these figures and these differences is, obviously, the impact of the crisis on Argentina and the devalued exchange rate in the parallel dollar quote (the one used by Uruguayans). The recent inflationary push that is taking place in Argentina narrowed the price gap between both countries and this is already causing a reduction in purchases by Uruguayans in Argentina, especially in the fuels. It is expected that this effect will begin to be seen in the reports of the Chamber of Commerce for this year 2024.
Sales in supermarkets
An area that is given special attention in the House report is that of supermarkets. Sales in this channel fell 1.4% year-on-year in the last quarter of 2023. On average for the year, sales in supermarkets fell 1.1% in real terms.
The chamber’s report analyzes the performance of sales in supermarkets in each category, although not all chains report information in this detail. Among those that did provide information, it is observed that the only categories that showed increases in sales in annual terms were soft drinks and baked goods, while practically all the rest had falls.
CNCS.jpeg
Source: Ambito
