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During the first three months of 2024, Television imports increased by 6% compared to the same period last year. This translates into external purchases of more than US$85 million, compared to the US$80 million registered in 2023, according to Dane figures.
Given this panorama, Nicolás Sierra, Commercial Manager of Fresh Foods of Grupo Éxito, highlighted that sporting events, such as Copa América, Eurocup and Olympic Games, are a great attraction for spectators.
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He added that this dynamic requires merchants to be prepared to satisfy demand in three specific categories: appliances, textiles, clothing and liquor.
“When a season like the Copa América, Olympic Games and the Euro Cup is coming we must be better prepared to assume the demand in electronics categories, mainly televisionswhere there is a tendency to acquire equipment of larger inches or dimensions in Colombian homes,” said Javier Díaz Molina, president of Analdex, a Colombian foreign trade union.
He added that The sector’s expectation is to achieve double-digit growth in this categoryand anticipates that this situation will allow domestic consumption to be boosted, given the very challenging figures that imports have had so far this year.
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He said the above because These sports events are energizers of habitual consumption, since these types of meetings have an important impact in sectors such as technology, textile clothing, alcoholic beverages, among other categories.
“But it is necessary that The National Government promotes measures that boost national trade, and even more so when we have seen stagnant internal consumption during the first months of 2024,” indicated the union leader.
Regarding the liquor category, Grupo Éxito’s expectations are also high, since They expect growth of more than 20% this season, driven by the consumption of wines and whiskeys. Between January and March 2024, wine imports reached US$15 million, which represents an increase of 21% compared to cIn the first quarter of 2023, where external purchases of this product reached US$12 million, according to Dane figures.
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Likewise, according to Analdex, This mid-year season with sporting events could help to reactivate, in a certain way, the barley or imported beer categoriesas well as textiles and clothing, where consumer demand could rebound slightly.
It is worth remembering that, during the first three months of 2024, Imports from the textile and clothing sector reached US$631.2 million, which corresponded to a decrease of 1.1% compared to the same period of the previous year, a period in which imports reached US$638.2 million, according to Dane.
The union leader said that Businessmen need adequate logistical conditions, damage to roads and national highways affects the arrival of goods to the entire Colombian territory.
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“It is key to work on having adequate logistics, this implies resolve internal bottlenecks in cargo transportation, improve road conditions and provide support with the entities in charge to avoid problems of blockages and vandalism on national highways,” said Díaz Molina.
While, for Nicolás Sierra, from the Éxito group, Entrepreneurs face great challenges in importing. Among the main challenges are the country’s logistical difficulties, added to the local taxes they must pay.
“Like all imports in Colombia, these also have their difficulties in terms of logistics, road transportation and security, which we have seen deteriorate in land transportation. In the case of the liquor category, obviously additions of local taxes that must be paid, departmental income are added that must be legalized in each of the municipalities to which one takes liquor,” Sierra concluded.
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