According to calculations by the National Federation of Merchants, in May there were 17 consecutive months with a balance in the red in sales. Huila also has figures in negative territory, the section reported. The sector is the main generator of employment in the capital Opita.
CATERIN MANCHOLA
@cate_manchola
“In the month of mothers, the ‘lean cows’ for trade sales and the slowdown in consumption persist, particularly those of durable consumer goods,” stated the Economic Log of the National Federation of Merchants – Fenalco, released yesterday. .
According to the merchants’ union, “with this month that has just passed, which is May, we have spent 17 months in which the economy is getting worse and worse,” Silvia Cuéllar, executive director at Fenalco Huila section, told LA NACIÓN.
For the spokesperson for the Opita merchants, the circumstances that have led to these results “are many, but we at Fenalco concluded that the mother’s month was not enough, a month in which commercial activity normally increases a lot and sales rebound; like it was last year. 80% of merchants feel the need and see it clearly, that sales in their businesses are increasingly decreasing and 76% consider that the confidence index and projection for the marketing of products, goods and supplies is going to become more difficult. more and more,” he reported.
Cuéllar urges that local leaders draw up joint measures to benefit the sector, which in the specific case of Neiva is the main generator of employment; Of the 144,000 employees that the capital Opita had during the February – April quarter, 30,000 belong to vehicle trade and repair, both formal and informal.
“We are facing a complicated situation at the national and regional level, which is worth it for all governments, municipal and departmental, to pay great attention to the sector of the economy, which is also an important sector in our region: commerce,” he concluded.
The national panorama
According to Fenalco, in the country for 81% of the businessmen consulted, their sales were lower or equal to those of a year ago (50% reported similar sales and 31% said they decreased); only 19% were better off.
The president of the union and one of the most critical of Gustavo Petro’s Government, Jaime Alberto Cabal, pointed out that although during Mother’s Day there was an uptick in the growth of the fashion cluster, which includes clothing, footwear, leather goods, jewelry and costume jewelry; failed to exceed expectations.
“What the Log suggests to us is that buyers use their credit cards less intensively, despite the reduction in interest rates. Many consumers look at the immediate future with distrust, fear getting into debt and postpone their credit purchases. This situation is related to the uncertainty generated by the political and economic panorama of the country.”
The union leader stressed that the tax reform, the “erratic hydrocarbon policy that only favors neighbors, the high costs that the government passes on to businessmen, legal uncertainty, distrust in institutions, the very poor budget execution of the Government and “The absolute absence of a shock plan today is taking its toll on the national economy and of course on Colombian households.”
What’s going on?
In its most recent report on the economy of the central region, which covers Huila, Tolima and Caquetá, the Bank of the Republic exposes the reasons behind this complex panorama of the commerce and tourism sector.
The Issuer analyzed that during the first quarter of the current year, “the low dynamism in economic activity, in an environment of reduced levels of confidence among businessmen and consumers, general uncertainty, security problems and a drop in consumer credit, affected the results in some indicators of commercial activity, hence the balance of retail sales, the marketing of new vehicles and hotel occupancy rates deteriorated.”
The document adds that, “the lower internal demand was reflected in the result of the question about the perception in the annual behavior of the volume of sales of the Monthly Survey of Economic Expectations (EMEE) of the Banco de la República, the average balance for The quarter went into negative territory, deteriorating compared to the previous quarter and a year ago. Regarding sales expectations in the short term, without being negative, a slowdown in responses was observed.”
And in addition, the marketing of new vehicles completed seven quarters with negative annual variations, although more moderate, “given the persistent decline in sales of durable goods, which was influenced by a low purchase intention due to high financing and maintenance costs.”
Finally, it is worth remembering that the Issuer has reiterated that the decrease in its interest rate will depend on the behavior of the Consumer Price Index – CPI, which for May continued at 7.16% annually and the Bank’s goal is that the inflation is 3% annually.
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