Fenalco Caldas expressed its concern about the economic behavior of the first quarter of the year, both locally in Manizales and nationally. According to the organization, the numbers show a negative trend in sales, reflecting a loss of purchasing power on the part of Colombian families. High interest rates have also not been attractive for consumption, which is reflected in the loss of jobs in the commercial sector, especially in the month of April.
Given this panorama, Fenalco Caldas hoped that Mother’s Day would be a respite for local commerce. However, a survey conducted by the organization revealed that the situation was not as encouraging as expected. The most frequented sectors, such as clothing, footwear and accessories, showed a decrease in sales, with more than 50% of respondents reporting sales equal to or lower than the previous year.
Regarding the average expenditure of people, the majority spent less than 100,000 pesos, which indicates caution in consumption. Furthermore, compared to Mother’s Day 2023, only a small percentage of merchants reported higher sales, while the majority considered them to be the same or even lower.
Of the respondents to a survey carried out by Fenalco to merchants, it shows that more than 50%, 57% were the same by 32% or 10 as last year on a normal trading day and only 17.8 percent increased between 1 and 10%. 10%. 43% of those surveyed had a decrease of 43% in their sales, the average expenditure of people in the city, 58% spent less than 100,000 pesos and only 8.2% spent between 200 and 300,000 pesos. Compared to the behavior of Mother’s Day in 2023, only 11% say that their sales were higher than those of 2023.
Given this situation, Fenalco Caldas calls on the national government to implement an economic reactivation plan, based on a technical and respectful dialogue, which takes into account the facts and numbers that the organization monitors month by month. The economic growth recorded in the first quarter of the year, which was only 0.7%, is a cause for concern and requires concrete actions to support the merchants and entrepreneurs represented by Fenalco.
“The economy in the first quarter was only 0.7%, which is worrying and calls us all to think about what we should do not only for the economy, but for the merchants and businessmen that we represent,” said Juan Carlos Franco. , director of Fenalco Caldas
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