The businessman Víctor Fera, owner and president of the wholesale chain Maxiconsumo, considered this Saturday that in the food sector there is “a lot of will” to adhere to Fair Pricesand affirmed that the initiative “can go a long way” to the objective of lowering inflation.
The new program, launched on Friday by the Government in an act that included the participation of the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa; includes 1,788 items from the basic basketwith the participation of 102 companies in 2,500 points of sale throughout the country.
“My view was that there were a lot of people and a lot of will. All the important businessmen were there and I saw, chatting with them, the support they wanted to give (at Fair Prices),” Fera said in a dialogue with CNN Radio.
Alfredo Coto (Coto Supermarkets), Martín Cabrales (Café Cabrales), Agustín Torres Campell (Molinos), Walter López (Queruclor), Francisco de Narváez (Chango Más), and Lucas Menoyo, are some of the businessmen who were present on Friday at the act developed in the Kirchner Cultural Center (CCK).
Fair Price products are incorporated at a value up to 4% higher than the average registered during October and will remain unchanged for the next 120 days.
The rest of the products marketed by the companies that join the program will have a monthly increase guideline that may not exceed a ceiling of 4% during the 120 days of the agreement.
According to Fera’s point of view, the initiative “can go a long way” when it comes to lowering inflation, because -he pointed out- “many prices in the competitive market are outside their real value.”
“I have been talking about the abuse of the dominant position for years. These 1,700 products were agreed upon and were not forcibly imposed,” she asserted.
“These 1,700 products were agreed and were not imposed by force”Victor Fera
Fera, who is also the head of the Argentine Chamber of Wholesale Distributors and Self-Services (Cadam), pointed out that the products of the program represent a small part of the portfolio of the firms, so it will not do them “very serious harm” nor will “the economy change much.”
“But the economy does change for the people who put their shoulders to the wheel every day and need it most,” he stressed.
The owner of Maxiconsumo ruled out that there will be supply problems and argued that in food companies “there is plenty of supply capacity.”
Likewise, he questioned the “corruption” due to the “monopolistic” position of the firms and called for the application of the Gondola Law, which, according to Fera, would make products cheaper and even some of them “would drop more than 20%, 25 %”.
“We sell a package of noodles or rice more expensive than anywhere in the world because of cartelization and monopoly,” Fera concluded.
