Chinese products help ease inflation in Argentina

BUENOS AIRES—As Christmas nears, at a Disco supermarket in Buenos Aires, Claudio Campos and his family loaded their shopping cart with Christmas decorations, which are mostly imported from China. Toys, photo frames, jewelry boxes, artificial flowers and the traditional mate thermos are some of the favorite Chinese products for many Argentines.
“Trade between Argentina and China is currently positive with record figures on imports and exports alike,” Guillermo Azrak, director of bilateral economic negotiations at the Argentine Foreign Ministry, told Xinhua.
“Mainly in 2007, there has been a significant rise of imports” from China, Azrak said. The past four years have witnessed a 120 increase in Argentina’s trade with China, the fastest growth among Latin American countries. The trade is now growing at an annual rate of 20 percent.
This places China as Argentina’s third largest supplier and second largest destination for its exports after Brazil in Latin America. Argentina now has a favorable trade balance with China.
China has played an important role in Argentina’s recovery after the 2001 crisis, supplying Argentina with large amounts of oil, leather, food, steel and clothing, among other products.
Chinese products have been gaining a bigger market share in Argentina because their quality has markedly improved over the past decade, said Miguel Calvete, secretary general of Chinese Residents’ Supermarkets and Self Service Chamber.
He noted that Chinese products now comply with all the quality regulations of European and American enterprises. Better quality and competitive prices have increased imports of Chinese products to Argentina to the present level of nearly 2 billion U.S. dollars.
Calvete said Chinese products play a positive role in easing Argentina’s inflation. “Without Chinese products, inflation in Argentina would be serious,” he said. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez on Nov. 30 met with the country’s main food suppliers and supermarket owners, praising the role of Chinese-run supermarkets in stabilizing prices in the South American country.
Some 60,000 Chinese currently reside in Argentina, with 80 percent in the supermarket business. Chinese-run supermarkets, which emerged in Argentina in 1990s, now total more than 3,800. Centering mostly in Buenos Aires and surrounding areas, they hire some 8,000 people and created 60,000 jobs indirectly.
Competitive prices, good service and long business hours have combined to make these supermarkets a big success, with their total annual business turnover reaching 8.5 billion dollars. Chinese food has also enjoyed increasing popularity among Argentines. Many of them visit the Chinese community in Buenos Aires regularly to buy Chinese food.
Earlier, The growth rate is 2.51 percentage points higher than the figure for the first ten months.
In November, the actually-used foreign investment in China surged 35.07 percent to 7.679 billion U.S. dollars. The number of newly approved foreign-invested firms fell 9.06 percent to 3,593. During the period, China has newly-approved 34,419 foreign-funded companies, down 7.02 percent year-on-year, the MOC stated.
The average foreign investment size expands as the nation is seeking to boost foreign capital utilization quality. The faster growth in foreign investment shows China’s booming economy and investment environment remain attractive to overseas investors, said experts.
In the 11 months, the actually used foreign capital from the U.S. and 15 member states of European Union, however, declined 8.25 percent and 29.8 percent respectively, the MOC said, without providing specific figures.—Xinhua