The sectors where the increase in sales is already evident are service stations, gastronomic establishments and tourism establishments.
The price difference between Uruguay and Argentina began to soften this year and stopped the crossing of Uruguayans for shopping tourism. The critical situation in border departments, with a sharp drop in activity and loss of employment, moderated and is slowly beginning to recover normal levels.
September 2023. A man from Salta crosses the international bridge to go to the dentist in Concordia. A family takes advantage of the weekend and buys the assortment in a supermarket at much more convenient prices. A woman from Salta travels the few kilometers that separate her from Argentina and reaches a cosmetology office with which she agreed to visit.
The department went through years in which the drop in tourism - caused by Covid-19 - and the drop in commercial activity as a result of the price gap with Argentina were mixed. In total there were four years that made themselves felt.
“On the weekends there was no one left in Salto.” This is how the president of the Commercial and Industrial Center, Guillermo Luzardo, described the situation that the department experienced in those days.
Although the price difference between Salto and Concordia always existed, in 2023 it had a significant jump. The Border Price Index (IPF), usually prepared by the Catholic University, showed that in the first months of the year prices in Salto were 144% more expensive than in Concordia.
Months later, in September, the gap widened and reached 180%, the highest since July 2015 when the Catholic University began carrying out the survey.
Long lines of cars began to be common on the Salto international bridge waiting to cross to Concordia.
Unemployment was another fact that began to raise alarms. In the first part of the year it had a peak of 14.7%, when the national average was 8.7%.
Salta consumption quickly moved to the other side of the border. People went to eat, to celebrate birthdays, to the doctor. Some residents even made the decision to move because renting a home cost half as much as in Uruguay.
The price difference is narrowing
In the midst of this reality, a bill promoted by senators Sergio Botana and Guido Manini Ríos gained strength. The proposal enabled micro-importation to border merchants who could buy Argentine products by paying lower tariffs or taxes. But the project never received parliamentary approval.
“It was a good idea to implement. Toothpaste, toilet soap, deodorants, and pharmacy products were not sold in Salto. There were abysmal price differences with Argentina,” recalled the president of the shopping center.
A few days after Javier Milei took office as president, a devaluation occurred that corrected the value of the official dollar and stabilized the blue. And that began to be noticed in the prices. In January of this year, the IPF showed that the gap had decreased to 97.4% and two months later, in March, it reached 50%. To reach close levels, we must go back to April 2019 when it was 43.1%.
Little by little, the department began to move again. The first sign came after an increase in fuel prices in Argentina, which in less than a month increased by close to 90%. This made it not so convenient to cross the bridge to fill the tank.
For this reason, for Luzardo it is essential that the return of 40% of the Imesi to fuel, still in force, be maintained.
“When the price is convenient, the consumer loads the tank and makes the assortment from the supermarket or pharmacy here. If not, he crosses to Concordia and buys everything from the other side,” he said.
The sectors where the increase in sales is already evident are service stations, gastronomic establishments and tourism establishments. In some cases they were between 10% and 15% and in others they reached 20%. “Those who had lost the most were the ones who recovered the most,” he mentioned.
Other segments, such as self-service, supermarkets and pharmacies, are beginning to change their pace and reverse the decline in activity. However, there is still a long way to go to recover, in the case of trade, the levels of 2021.
But perhaps the most important aspect for the department is changing expectations. “Before, merchants were asked if they had prospects of hiring employees or making investments in the next year and the answer was a resounding no. Now there is a more generalized optimism compared to some time ago,” said Luzardo.
