The Minister of Productive Development, Matías Kulfas, affirmed this Sunday that “work is being done on the formation of a trust for fresh products, with the aim of being able to increase supply to stabilize prices.”
Speaking to cable channel C5N, Kulfas explained that “There are supply factors, in the case of fresh produce, that generate very volatile prices and there are also seasonal factors that reduce supply, which is why we thought of a scheme that allows us to anticipate purchases and be able to intervene in times of supply shortage Fresh produce is highly dependent on seasonal supply and demand, unlike industrial produce.”
The minister pointed out that “it is a market that is very fragmented both in the production stage and in the retail sales stage. There, then, there is a central point that we want to carry forward and that is to be able to stabilize supply and We are working on a trust fund for fresh produce to avoid price volatility.”
When asked about the possibility of creating a national food company, Kulfas declined to give details about this initiative and only specified that “We think about strengthening the supply of products and that is why we work on programs such as the one for SMEs in Góndolas, with the aim of increasing the supply of goods.”
? @KulfasM in Conflict Of Interest with @juan_amorin:
? “The salary stopped falling, this year it has to be recomposed”
?#ElCeluDeVidal pic.twitter.com/wbd2YDR1z0
— C5N (@C5N) February 20, 2022
In relation to inflation, the person in charge of the productive portfolio admitted that “the first quarter comes with many complications due to seasonal effects and puts an inflation floor higher than expected.”
Kulfas stated that “the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will dispel many doubts and I understand that many economic agents wanted to anticipate the agreement and increased prices”
The minister pointed out that “the agreement with the IMF will bring about a recomposition of reserves and will reduce the doubts and expectations of businessmen and this agreement, together with measures such as Care Prices and others, will deflate those negative expectations.”
In relation to the next rounds of joint discussions, Kulfas said that “we expect wages to grow above inflation this year”, while acknowledging that “we have to recompose a lot”.
The minister stressed that “Industrial profit margins are going to allow wages to be recomposed and we hope that employers earn a little less and distribute income more progressively. There are improvements, but inflation still eats up the worker’s salary and we are working on that.”
Finally, the minister stressed that “there is no ceiling on joint discussions”, while declining to give further details.
