The drought and the lack of dollars for imports will cause a shortage of seasonal fruits and vegetables this summer with an immediate correlation to a rise in prices that will impact inflation. “The shortage of dollars to import decreases the supply in the face of constant demand and has raised prices in the domestic market,” said the Focus Market consultancy directed by Damián Di Pace.
The economist explained that “not only has the drought and frost harmed our country, but it has also been a problem in the region from where we import seasonal vegetables and fruits.”
Consequently, he considered that “we have two drawbacks: the price in dollars of those products that we import has become more expensive and, on the other hand, we do not have the dollars to give them to importers.”
As revealed by Focus Market, there are products such as bananas imported from Ecuador that accumulated a year-on-year increase of 136%, or pineapples that increased 161%. There were also 100% increases in kiwi and avocado from Chile and 225% in watermelon from Brazil.
Source: NA