The Government seeks to close an agreement with companies to establish a new stage of the Fair Prices program, which will last until June and will include more items and a reduction in the average increases from 4% to 3.2%.

The Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, wants to expand the program by including more sectors of the economy and production. For the moment, the items that will be included are: mass consumption, sports shoes, cell phones and small appliances, clothing, textiles, widespread supplies, to which more sectors will surely be incorporated during this week.

From the Ministry of Economy they indicated that the decision to advance the agreements was made after an evaluation of the fiscal goals and accumulation of reserves, understanding that the conditions are in place to homogenize all the agreements within the framework of an average path and expanding the participation of sectors and companies, as well as extending the validity period until next June 30.

In mass consumption, within the program the 2 thousand products will be maintained at a fixed price, although there could be a rotation in the items that make up the offer, while the rest will follow a guideline of 3.2% average increase, less than the 4% set in the initial understanding.

The objective is to generate predictability for the next four months given that more than 450 companies make the commitment to comply with an average price path of 3.2% until June.

The Secretary of Commerce, Matías Tomobolini, said last Friday that the Fair Prices program will add some 124 companies, which will reach 482 participants and explained that "in terms of stock it is around 70%, signage 77%, and in fixed prices 98%, the biggest challenge of this is that the product is on the shelf, that the supply is met."

“In terms of inflation we are busy, because it worries us, working with all the sectors we can to try to achieve a downward path and for prices to increase more and more slowly than the previous month,” Tombolini remarked in statements for Radio con vos.

In terms of inspection, since Tombolini's management began, 7,770 inspections were carried out, 4,488 in supermarkets and wholesalers, from Now 12 there were 2,051 inspections and more than 1,813 at fixed Fair Price points.

Current scheme

In the first and current stage of Fair Prices, which began in November of last year, a basket of fixed prices was established for about two thousand essential products through voluntary agreements between the Government and producing and marketing companies.

In addition, a price path was established so that another 30 thousand essential products do not exceed a 4% monthly increase in this first stage.

The oil companies joined the original agreement at the end of November, agreeing that fuels participate in the program with monthly increases of up to 4% in December, January and February, and 3.8% in March of this year.

Likewise, there are agreements in force in the areas of textiles, clothing, footwear, cell phones, widespread supplies and medicines.

Deep / PA