MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Argentines flood Chile to purchase electronic devices and home appliances
Seven out of ten Argentine cars that cross to Chile return home with electronic devices and home appliances bought in some Chilean city, according to a report from the Buenos Aires daily La Nación. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesGood business for Chile.
Feb 29th, 2012 - 08:51 am - Link - Report abuse 0And Argentinians get a nice day out in a clean and well run Country.
Why are you like this, Argentina?
Feb 29th, 2012 - 10:10 am - Link - Report abuse 0You have everything so whats your excuses?
You know your economy is f****d when you go elsewhere for consumer goods.
Feb 29th, 2012 - 10:32 am - Link - Report abuse 0Inflation, Inflation and inflation - Thats why it costs so much to by that dam TV in argentina compared to how much it costs in chile. As the argentines like to say to us about the UK - Argentina is finished, its bankrupt LMAO
Feb 29th, 2012 - 10:49 am - Link - Report abuse 0God with all the recent articles showing how bad and desperate the argentines are, i have never laughed so much in my life - It just shows the true extent of ignorance, stupidty and hypocrisy of the argentine posters here when they try make the UK out to be in the situation their own country is in lol.
ARGENTINA, Y U NO CONSUMERS?
Feb 29th, 2012 - 10:50 am - Link - Report abuse 0I wonder how long it will be before the Argentine government closes the border with Chile?
Feb 29th, 2012 - 11:46 am - Link - Report abuse 0Didn't Ogara tell me Ipads and Iphones were everywhere and cheap? My gosh he wasn't lying was he? hahaha
Feb 29th, 2012 - 11:52 am - Link - Report abuse 0Watch what happens as they depreciate the peso, will it take them a 6 months of total wages to buy a phone? Losers.
@7 Yes and we knew it was a lie at the time.
Feb 29th, 2012 - 12:25 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I'm not a spanish speaker, thereby making me not racked with poverty. This aside, aren't they using the highest denomination peso note to roll cigarettes with yet?
Feb 29th, 2012 - 12:38 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Is this the beginning of the end of the Argie economy?
Feb 29th, 2012 - 04:28 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Will they too beg the Brits via the IMF for a bail out?
This is a bit delusional. This has been going on since factories left Ushuaia in the 90's. Everybody here knows Electronic stuff and other stuff ar cheaper in Punta Arenas Duty Free Zone. As much as most in Punta Arenas know food is cheaper in Argentina as well as fuel and other stuff.
Feb 29th, 2012 - 05:26 pm - Link - Report abuse 0JuanStanic,
Feb 29th, 2012 - 05:40 pm - Link - Report abuse 0CFK has lost control of the economy. Her policies are a complete “plug the hole with your fingers” act. With more holes showing up.
She's only got ten fingers.
@11 and factories manufactoring goods elswhere supply them at greater prices to argentina do they? No only differences is the cost of importing to argentina, the reason why it costs more in argentina by say 2,000 persos is the inflation and devaluation in the peso.
Feb 29th, 2012 - 06:02 pm - Link - Report abuse 0We have lost loads of our manufactory factorys that make goods, but do you see us going to france to buy such goods when they are just as cfheap here as they are in france or elsewhere? No you don't! So again not are you showing your complete denial to the state your economy, but also your complte lack of knowledge on goods importation and economics.
@12
Feb 29th, 2012 - 06:37 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I don't believe he lost all control yet. But definately she's doing her last gambles.
@13
So from your reasoning peso is still worthwhile in Chile?! Explain then why. The article clearly refer to pesos.
Will you pay 50% more for a TV just because it's British?
Please, explain me how my stated facts have something to do with your two last statements.Enlighten me.
No teaboy, if it was solely inflation then that would affect Argentines purchasing power in Chile. The main reason electronics cost a lot more in Argentine is a punitive luxury tax to them... which is meant to encourage people to buy those made in Tierra del Fuego. But that is only good for washers, dryers, etc, where Argentina does produce decent goods (which I would buy). It doesn't work with LCDs or with “boutique” items like Ipads which are only imported.
Feb 29th, 2012 - 07:24 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@tobias
Feb 29th, 2012 - 07:26 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Exactly. Very well put.
More and more bloggers are waking up to the fact that they have been conned, their great country is being ruined, and the brits are to blame, CFK is running out of time,
Feb 29th, 2012 - 07:58 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Its well worth noting, its Argentina who is going broke, not the UK .
join the brits, and get a FREE flag lolol.
Great news for our business people. We love Argentine consumers, we even take their Argie pesos here. We are an open economy so our prices will always be much cheaper than theirs. A few things are heavily subsidized by CFK, like fuel , etc.,( if you can find it) so these are cheaper in Arg. It keeps the minions fooled into thinking that CFK is looking after them.
Feb 29th, 2012 - 09:17 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@18
Feb 29th, 2012 - 09:35 pm - Link - Report abuse 0My congrats to you. I criticize Chile in many many fields. But if there is a field where “me saco el sombrero” is in economic management.
BTW, just asking you, why don't Chilean people come to live to the South? Porvenir, Cerro Sombrero, Natales, Williams. All are beautiful but almost barren cities with a huge potential to grow.
I heard Porvenir was lobbying for an Industry law similar to ours. Is that true? If so, how is it going?
@Juan and tobias, no it would not cost the same in chile if purchased with peso's. as the amount of inflation in argentina is not present in chile, so the extra cost due to inflation in argentina would not be added to the cost of products in chile, even if purchased with peso. Read the aritcle it clearly shows it costs 3,000 peso in chile (ignoring mercopress obvious error off course) and 5,300 in argentina. You then have the higher import costs in argentina on top of that, due to the import restrictions, further increasing the price in argentina which is why it costs 43% approx more in argentina than it does in chile.
Feb 29th, 2012 - 10:32 pm - Link - Report abuse 0As for your question on would i buy a tv for 50% more just because its british? Well thats irelevant as for a start a british TV would cost less than a foreign one due to no importation costs, so yout question is nonsense. Would i travel to france to buy the same make and model tv for a couple of hundred pounds less, no i would not i would either locally or buy online and not bother to travel to france for it. Which then raises the question why argentinians are travelling to chile in the first place to buy a TV when they could simply buy online - Ohh i forget the import restrictions meaning customs would likely intercept it and fine you.
@19 JuanSatanic.
Mar 01st, 2012 - 01:03 am - Link - Report abuse 0Are you really saying that Argentine economic policy is better than Chile's????
You must be tripping!!!
For a start: Your ridiculous Tierra del Fuego subsidies....
CFK spends US$100,000 per person per annum employed in the assembly industries of that remote region. These people get very good salaries by middle income country standards (about US$2,500 PM), BUT and there's HUGE BUT!!!!
It is amongst the most inefficient assembly industries in the whole planet, and almost all the components are imported which does not help your balance of payments problem. The imported parts are shipped to B.A. because the ports in TDF are obsolete, then they are trucked down thousands of klms through horrible pothole filled roads, 'cause your rail system is useless. Thereby making the whole industry completely unconpetetive . Worse still people are going hungry in other regions of Argentina while these precious resources are misspent. Once the subsidies are taken away everything will crumble. You may want these illusions that no doubt make you feel better but we don't want that sort of waste of taxpayer money in Chile. We only manufacture what we can sell openly in the world market, we have no tariffs or import quotas we have the worlds biggest number of FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS. You should reconsider your stupid central planning economic model as it will very soon implode. Saludos.
Teaboy, I never asked if you would buy a British tv... hmmm. I said I would buy home appliances from there because the quality is good, and the prices acceptable. Consumer electronics is another matter.
Mar 01st, 2012 - 01:40 am - Link - Report abuse 0@21
Mar 01st, 2012 - 01:44 am - Link - Report abuse 0What language do you speak in Chile? Don't you know the phrase “me saco el sombrero”? It means greatly congratulate someone and recognize they are way better in that. I was congratulating you.
Yes, we know that. So? You can't just go and give the money to hungry people. “Give food to a man and he will eat for a day. Teach him to cook and he will eat forever.”
Besides, everybody know that about factories. The idea is not to make people living here have a good life. It's to populate the Island. When factories first left in the 90s, 80% of the factory employees and their families stayed. I believe the same will happen when the factories eventually go away. Once people has created a life here they are likely to stay.
And good for you, have all the agreements you want to. Your situation, your potential and your resources are different than ours, and so you take a different stance. Free trade with the world may be great for you. It doesn't work here.
IMO the best way here would be internal free trade with light intervention from the government and very few trade(except raw materials and primary production) with the world.
My questions to you regarding your Patagonia still stand if you wish to answer.
Re your question:
Mar 01st, 2012 - 03:11 am - Link - Report abuse 0Sadly there are many leftist minded people in Chile who would welcome central planning, but they are not in the majority. The southern regions such as Aysen have had steady and sustainable growth. Their economic indicators compare very favorably with central Chile. The government is serious about improving the things IT IS RESPONSiBLE FOR, and leaving the things it's not responsible for to the free market. Roads, communication , etc., are being improved. As with all Chileans they are NOT happy with the pace of reform and are very vocal about it. You see in Chile there's no APATHY, everyone is involved (both a blessing and a curse) so this week many ministers have been down there to negotiate with the people and fix this issue. Finally I doubt very much that we will copy any of your government initiatives, particularly with regard to industry as we are a trading nation open to the world and it just wouldn't work .
Qualitatively it looks like...
Mar 01st, 2012 - 08:58 am - Link - Report abuse 0this ideology: Leftism, central planning, nationalism, socialism, luxury goods tarifs, expansionism,economic isolationism, high levels of corruption.
delivers: bad infrastructure, bad education, bad governance, bad trade, bad FDI, bad growth, bad prospects.
I'm not going to go with that ideology then, it looks terrible.
22 Tobias - I know you didn't ask me that question, but my response was to both you and jaun. It was jaun who asked me that question back in post #14 and it was his post #14 and your post #15 that i was responding to jointly, i was therefore responding to Juans question as well as points you and jaun had raised in post#14 and 15.
Mar 01st, 2012 - 09:45 am - Link - Report abuse 0As a chilean, I consder JuanStanic's critics regarding the chilean political management of the non-central settlements in the south justified (and I am by NO means leftist or socialist). I consider this a weak point in the administration of the country. Santiago may be the most dynamic city in Latin america, but the rest of the country (especially the extremes) are quite poorly run and their achievments are mostly due to local force and dedication. Chile should be eager to make Punta Arenas a real emerging spot, may it be by industrial, comercial or touristic means. Punta Arenas has the potential to be the main city in whole Patagonia.
Mar 06th, 2012 - 12:26 pm - Link - Report abuse 027 ManRod.
Mar 09th, 2012 - 06:04 am - Link - Report abuse 0So you want more subsidies, and you claim that you are not a leftist. What's wrong with slow sustainable growth, focusing on tourism. Forget about industrial development, it will do more harm than good. Both to the environment and to the national purse. There's plenty of other places in chile, particularly in the north where its' way more convenient to improve industry.
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