MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine SMEs post 21.7% improvement in exports

SMEs also fear a barrage of layoffs next year after imported products flood the domestic market given the current strength of the local peso against the US dollar

Argentina's Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises (CAME) reported this weekend that exports between January and November exceeded US$ 9 billion, representing a 21.7% growth in shipments and 27.5% in tonnage, mainly to Brazil and Chile. Overall, South America accounted for 33.1% of sales.

According to CAME's Export Monitor (MEP), these companies accounted for 12.4% of Argentina's total exports, with US$ 9.234 billion in revenues and 7.9 million tons of cargo. “This increase in the exported volume shows a real growth in sales, although the price per ton marked a drop of 6.3%, reaching an average of US$1,174,” the MEP pointed out. “It is necessary to export more quantities to obtain the same [amount of] dollars,” the document also mentioned.

“This is a consequence of the fact that prices, in most cases, are not a negotiation variable,” it added.

“Of the 7,701 firms that exported in this period, 5,486 are SMEs, that is to say, that, in the course of the first eleven months of the year, 71.2% of the operators are small and medium-sized,” it was explained.

Tobacco and byproducts recorded the highest decrease both in money (-30.8%) and volume (-30.6%) while the highest growth in dollars was in Miscellaneous manufactures (+1,266%). When measured in tons, the highest growth was in Oil and fuels (+117%).

Unprocessed food accounted for 50.1% of sales, which showed that “although more volume is positive, it is evidence of the lack of added value since industrializing products locally allows obtaining higher income and generating employment,” CAME's study noted.

“If the SME exporting complexes are broken down into their tariff positions, it is observed that the main exported product are salts with formic acid, representing 2.6% of the total, followed by squid, peanuts, shrimps and prawns, all unprocessed and unindustrialized products,” the report went on.

Behind South America, Europe and particularly The Netherlands, Spain, and Italy represented 24.3% of the SMEs' sales abroad.

In addition, SMEs fear a barrage of layoffs nearing 300,000 next year after imported products hit the domestic market given the current strength of the local peso against the US dollar.