Milei government opens up food imports in bid to curb price hikes

President Javier Milei’s government has ordered the opening of food imports in an attempt to curb soaring inflation "and make prices more competitive.”

The news was announced Tuesday by Presidential Spokesman Manuel Adorni, who said the decision had been taken after meetings between Economy Minister Luis Caputo and business leaders. 

"In the meeting, the businessmen acknowledged that prices were rising above the inflation expectations and of course the scenario that the businessmen had evaluated was catastrophic," said Adorni.

The spokesperson said that Argentina’s economy is “gradually normalising” after years of protectionism. 

“The decision has been taken to definitively open imports for certain products of the family basket in order to make prices more competitive for the benefit of Argentine families and consumers,” he added.

Adorni added that there would be "some tax relief" on certain imported products.

The move was announced just hours before the INDEC national statistics bureau confirmed inflation data for February, with analysts forecasting a rate of around 15 percent.

Various local news outlets reported that Caputo received on Monday representatives from the largest supermarket chains in Argentina.

According to reports, he said that prices of mass consumption products were not reflecting Argentina’s new economic reality. 
 

– TIMES/NA