The film of the missing closes another December of terror. After a year in which the import shortages determined the functioning of a large part of the springs of the national economy, the end of December is a pronounced headache for sectors such as health, the production of machinery and food, and the automotive segment. The problem does not end there: the forecasts of analysts and businessmen account for shortages that would deepen during 2023. Such a possibility already takes away the sleep of more than one protagonist of the domestic productive apparatus.
The drama that is going through the health field was once again evident after representatives of the Federation of Clinics of the province of Buenos Aires (FECLIBA) reported this week that hospitals in different parts of the country began to reschedule surgeries due to the lack of supplies. .
Néstor Porras, head of the entity, remarked that in the second half of the year the lack of aerator pumps used in procedures in the operating room acceleratedspecial syringes and even gloves.
“Suppliers argue that they do not have stock,” said the manager. “Even gloves are beginning to become scarce. Already in times of pandemic we commented that we had to be careful with the supply of oxygen, which was complicated, and the lack of sedation elements,” he added.
Porras commented that, as a result of this context, the referral of Buenos Aires patients was accelerated, especially those affected by cardiovascular ailments, to clinics distributed in cities such as La Plata or Bahía Blanca.
The lack of supplies for heart operations was warned at the beginning of December by the Argentine College of Cardiovascular Surgeons (CACCV). The entity stressed that the non-availability of surgical material, which arrives in Argentina from China, the United States and Europe, “is putting the health and lives of patients who require surgery at risk.”
The health sector faces great complications to get hold of basic supplies.
In tune with the problems that this niche is going through, the Argentine Cornea, Refractive and Cataract Society (SACRYC) notified in the middle of this month that the sector suffers from obstacles to the importation of materials such as lenses and key products for performing cataract, glaucoma or lacrimal duct surgeries.
Shortages: complications for industrialists
In the industrial field, the picture is just as complicated. Directors of the Association of Manufacturers of Agricultural Machinery and Agrocomponents of Córdoba (AFAMAC), defined as “very serious” the problems sourcing imported parts and spare parts.
Luciana Mengo, a reference for the organization, affirmed that the income of inputs “is frozen” and that to this inconvenience the sector must add the financial complications that agribusiness is going through due to the prevailing drought.
The metallurgists of the ASINMET Mendoza association also raised their voices at the beginning of December to point out that the metal-mechanic sector is on the verge of paralysis due to difficulties in importing basic materials.
The dairy was not left behind: the Association of Small and Medium Dairy Companies (APYMEL) recognized difficulties in sustaining the milk supply due to lack of inputs for the processing and packaging of products.
“We view with concern the delays in the authorization of the SIRA (System of Imports of the Argentine Republic). This makes it difficult to supply inputs and puts production in our companies at risk,” the entity stated in a recent statement.
The industrial sector suffers from a pronounced shortage of key materials.
“According to government authorities, the inputs for the production of SMEs were going to be guaranteed and that is what we aspire to,” he added.
Automotive companies will continue to be affected by the obstacles
The automotive sector ends 2022 with serious problems with the supply of parts and the outlook for the year that is almost beginning is not the best either. Auto parts manufacturers, for example, continue suffering the payment regime enabled every 180 days to its supplierswhich only makes the availability of key inputs more difficult.
In the terminals they do not believe that this situation will change in the short term, so the generation of 0 Kilometer vehicles will continue to be affected in 2023 with what this will imply in terms of low stock in the dealerships.
Manufacturers such as Renault and Nissan have been going through a serious shortage of parts and both firms established separate stoppages in the second semester as a result of this cause.
Due to a lack of components, Nissan stopped the manufacture of the Frontier “pick up” that it produces in Cordoba territory during some days of the first half of November. Renault, meanwhile, suspended activities during October due to delays in the implementation of SIRA.
Of course, they were not the only automakers affected in this last stretch of 2022. Also in November, Ford acknowledged problems in complying with its suppliers outside of Argentina and problems in the supply of semiconductors.
Automotive companies applied plant shutdowns due to the lack of spare parts and accessories.
For his part, Fiat suspended production for just over a day at the end of October. Also, affected by the guidelines contemplated in the SIRA, the company froze the production of units such as the Cronos for several hours, with a partial cessation of activities in the sheet metal, painting and assembly areas.
