The electronics industry managed to recover production levels prior to the pandemic, with increases reaching up to 78% when compared to 2019. However, consumption did not accompany these increases and remains below the production variation percentages, especially in the televisions and air conditioners categories.

According to data from the Ministry of Industry of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands, between January and October 2021, 8,415,729 cell phones were manufactured, 84.6% more than in the same period of 2020 and 35.3% than in that period of 2019.

Regarding televisions, in the first ten months of the year, 2,329,725 units were produced, 46.3% more than in the same period of 2020 and 62% more than in 2019. In terms of air conditioners, the increases are more pronounced: 1,117,610 units were assembled, an increase of 119% compared to last year and 78.24% compared to last year. with 2019.

Given this scenario, the president of the Association of Argentine Electronic Terminal Factories (AFARTE), Federico Hellemeyer, assured that "although production figures are encouraging in year-on-year comparisons, consumption is lagging behind, particularly in the categories of televisions and air conditioners."

The executive added that "it must be taken into account that the comparison of manufacturing levels is made against 2019 due to how atypical 2020 was as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to the closure of plants for almost three months and altered the supply of inputs and international trade. And when we talk about 2019, it is necessary to remember that this was not a good year, in fact in terms of production volumes it was the worst year of the previous ten."

With a projection for November and December, it is estimated that by the end of the year around 9.7 million cell phones will have been manufactured; 2.7 million televisions and 1.2 million air conditioners.

Cold demand
According to data from the specialized consulting firm GFK, television sales between January and October 2021 had an increase of only 8.9% compared to the same period in 2020 (1,477,455 units this year and 1,356,715 in 2020) and are still 4.77% below sales in 2019 (1,551,473 units).

In the first ten months of 2021, 580,853 air conditioners were sold, 14.43% more than in 2020 but 12.91% less than in 2019. Sales showed a better performance in the cellular sector, with 7,280,527 phones sold between January and October 2021. This is 50.86% more than in 2020 and a 23.15% than in 2019.

"Our sector does not escape the general economic crisis that affects our country and that conditions the purchasing power of consumers in the domestic market. Having recovered, during 2021, production levels after the three-month plant closures in 2020 and the corresponding stock breaks, in the second half of that year, by 2022 the objective is clear: to achieve a recovery in the consumption dynamics of all categories of our products," Hellemeyer estimated.

And he added: "To achieve this goal, it is key to provide the client with the most varied financing offer, facilitating access to our products. In this sense, tools such as the lines of the National Government's "Now" plans are essential to stimulate demand."

BAE Business