According to the industry overview of October 2019 from the Argentine Chamber of Garment Industry (CIAI), according to the report of the Argentine Confederation of Medium-sized Enterprises (CAME), the purchasing power of the Argentine people has dropped significantly, resulting in 2019 Garment retail sales fell by 17.6% in August.
Although garment manufacturers have tried their best not to increase clothing prices in line with the inflation rate, sales have still declined. Argentina’s National Statistics Institute (INDEC) pointed out that compared with the same period last year, clothing sales in shopping malls and supermarkets dropped by 6.4% and 12.1% respectively in July 2019.
CIAI stated that the industry has been severely affected by the decline in consumer purchasing power and high tax and financial costs, which has seriously affected the normal development of the textile and garment industry. According to the INDEC report, garment industry production fell by 12.8% in August compared with the same period last year, and has been declining for 15 consecutive months.
In addition, due to the decline in domestic clothing sales and the appreciation of the US dollar, clothing imports have been hit. According to Argentine customs statistics, clothing imports fell by 35.8% in August (the quantity fell by 31.8%, and the selling price fell by 31.8%. down 5.9%).
