Recentlythe Bank of the Republic reduced interest rates, leaving them at 10.25%.
However, for Fenalco, a union that brings together the country’s businessmen, this situation has not yet favored business sales and on the contrary presents a “worrying” panorama because the most recent survey registered in the Fenalco Economic Log , held in September, “shows that for 74% of the entrepreneurs consulted, sales were similar (46%) or decreased (28%), compared to the same month of the previous year.”
(Read: Minimum wage 2025: the variables to take into account in the negotiation, according to the CUT)
Jaime Alberto Cabal, president of the union, assured that although there has been better dynamics in the sale of durable and semi-durable goods such as vehicles, motorcycles, furniture, appliances and computers; ““Households remain very cautious with their spending, especially in categories associated with the fashion cluster such as textiles, clothing, footwear, jewelry, backpacks and the like.”
Furthermore, despite a recent Dane report that indicates a positive variation in retail sales, Cabal assures that so far this year there has been a 1% drop in sales, and the accumulated decrease in the last twelve months reaches 2.2%.
(Read: The chapters of Colombia in the work of the Nobel Prize in Economics).
Jaime Alberto Cabal, president of Fenalco
César Melgarejo / EL TIEMPO
The union’s report highlights the difficult situation faced by agroinput merchants and agricultural supply warehouses, who have expressed their dissatisfaction with the poor performance of their sales during the third quarter, especially in September. This trend reflects a complex panorama for these sectors that are fundamental to the rural economy.
(Read: The deterioration in the confidence of Colombian consumers persists)
Additionally, Fenalco assures that the flow of visitors to shopping centers, as well as to stores and restaurants in the city centers, has decreased significantly, and that this decrease has been accentuated by the trucker strike in the first week of September, which significantly affected mobility and consumption in urban areas.
Shopping centers
iStock
“To the poor behavior of the sector so far in 2024 and the uncertainty due to the difficult political moment that the country is going through; adds the labor reform that is advancing its discussion in the House of Representatives and that will undoubtedly be the final blow for many micro, small and medium-sized companies, which have endured this difficult moment in their businesses but that will surely not survive the high costs of upcoming hiring,” Cabal stated.
(Read: Industrial production in the country fell 1.8% in real terms in August)
Regarding expectations, Fenalco assures that 31% of businessmen declare themselves optimistic, while 69% say that things will remain as they are now or things will go worse.
PORTFOLIO
