Residents of neighboring areas to the south such as Punta Arenas and Futaleufú say crossing the border into different parts of Argentina can mean savings of up to 50% on items such as food, cleaning products, supplies pharmaceuticals and gasoline for cars. Likewise, they say a stay in a four-star hotel can cost them a third of what a similar hotel would cost in Chile, while a chorizo steak with starter and dessert included can cost them the equivalent. of a “combo” into a local food fast in the country.
When Marisol García realizes that the merchandise is running out in her family home in Punta Arenas, she and her husband embark on a journey of about two and a half hours to reach Puerto Natales.
They do not go there because the supermarkets in the area have cheaper prices than those in their hometown, but rather because in addition to greeting their relatives, they take advantage of buying Argentine pesos to then cross the border with the trans-Andean country.
From Puerto Natales to the city of Río Turbio, Argentina, it is about half an hour by car. But despite the fact that the whole journey is about three hours away, he assures that it is worth it for his pocket.
There they buy everything from groceries such as oil, flour, sugar and different types of coffee to items such as detergents, shampoos, deodorants, creams and dog food.
according to account The third under the name change request, the difference in values is abysmal, so much so that much of his acquaintance also goes to Río Turbio or 28 de Noviembre, some 20 kilometers further north, in Argentina.
“Right now a lot of people go shopping there, because if you go to a supermarket here, you leave with three little things and you can’t even take $20,000 worth of laundry detergent,” he says, “there below, a large (three liters) for a washing machine costs $4,000, while here a similar machine costs $14,000″.
In the same way, he adds: “In Chile, for a liter of oil you can pay 4,000 dollars, there with 5,000 dollars you get two bottles of three liters, that is to say that it is is a big difference. And we are talking about good oils”.
During the conversation, García lists a wide range of products that he has found to be significantly cheaper in Argentina.
For example, nail polish that costs $3,000 in a supermarket in Punta Arenas can be purchased there for $500. A $4,000 deodorant finds it for $1,300. A $6,000 cream could cost you $1,800. And a $4,000 shampoo, find it for $900.
Likewise, a bag of packaged dog food that could cost him $70,000, on November 28, he nabs it for $9,000.
“It’s also very convenient,” he adds.
The amount of household items you can get in Argentina is much more than what you can get in the country with the same amount.
Also, beyond the products that can be purchased, she and other Chileans take advantage of the trips to stay a weekend and enjoy restaurant visits and hotel stays.
The differences in these areas are also considerable, says García.
Chileans who cross Argentina with the change in their favor
Claudia Vargas, also a resident of Punta Arenas, says The third who fills the tank of his vehicle at local gas stations with $45,000, while when he goes to Río Turbio he does it with $15,000.
This and the discounts on other products influenced my trip to Argentina about every month. Although he cautions that this does not apply to all market items.
“We also have a free trade zone in Punta Arenas and there are several things that we can buy at more or less similar prices. But get into it, oil, flour and toiletries for clothes and home have become very expensive in general. It is very cheap in Argentina, but there are others here that are at similar values”.
In addition to the aforementioned towns in the neighboring country, he clarified that many locals go to the Río Gallegos sector, about three hours from their town.
There, they not only take advantage of the trip to buy, but also to make family plans for the weekends.
“Today, housing and food are very cheap. For example, you can stay in a 4-star hotel in Río Gallegos for $20,000 per person, while in Punta Arenas or other parts of Chile, a similar hotel may cost you $60,000. So for one person here, three stay there.
As for food in restaurants, he specifies that an individual lunch of a chorizo steak with starter and dessert included can cost between $8,000 and $10,000.
“Here in Chile, with this value, you can buy a combo,” he comments, referring to fast food.
“A lot of people will exclusively fill up with gas”
In Futaleufú, a town in the Lake District about an 18-hour drive north of Puerto Natales, the situation is not much different.
Ítalo González, who asked to keep his real name, runs a hotel in the area and says a large portion of Argentine tourists visiting the area pay in Argentine pesos.
He says that there are both businesses dedicated to tourism, as well as a large number of stores that offer American clothing, use this currency to travel to Argentina and buy goods and fuel in areas such as Trevelin and Esquel.
“I go there more or less every 15 days and it takes me an hour or less,” he says, “I would say almost everything is cheaper there in terms of food.”
According to González, in Argentina he spends “less than half” what he spends here on fuel, while things like oil are around 40% cheaper.
“Of course, you have to consider that it’s already expensive here, because everything comes from Puerto Montt or the central area and then you have to board. I estimate that Futaleufú is between 10% and 20% more expensive than Puerto Montt, so it must be 30% more expensive than in Santiago”.
Even so, he assures that crossing the border is still convenient for locals: “There are a lot of people who exclusively go to fill up with gas.”
“Also, the food there is very tasty and much cheaper. You pay a third of the amount you spend here and you receive premium quality.”
Although he assures that destinations such as Trevelin and Esquel are the most common for locals to shop, many also choose to go to Bariloche, a tourist town about five hours from Futaleufú.
“They will dance, eat, at the cinema, in a rock. There is a lot more life than here. So they go from those latitudes for that. And taking advantage of the economic change, they leave for the weekend from here to Esquel, Bariloche or El Bolsón, which are several interesting options”.
Market restrictions and measures against shortages
Despite the fact that González and Vargas and García assure that oil is one of the most convenient items to buy in Argentina, the latter assures that the last time she went there she found restrictions in the supermarket where she is visiting on November 28: a maximum of two bottles per person
“I asked the cashier why it was due, which also applies to flour (it’s 5 kilos no more) and sugar,” he says, “and she made me understand that if they sell more than the authorized quantity, they do not have later how to resupply”.
Even so, he explains that this is not true if you enter twice or if each of the family members carries the amounts indicated individually.
Vargas says that a few days ago she saw a report on an Argentinian television channel, in which, according to her, a counselor from Río Turbio demanded that sales to Chileans be limited.
“It’s causing them shortages, because we’re going to buy, it’s much more convenient than doing it here.”
This agrees with a video that went viral on TikTok in mid-February in which a user of the social network shared the “things that caught my attention on my first day in Argentina as a Chilean”.
Among the multiple images he showed -such as the different types of sweets that are not in Chile-, the one that most caught the attention of Internet users is that they see signs in supermarkets saying “maximum per family group: 3 units”. This was read with both the oil samples and those of some cola drinks.
All the people interviewed in this article assured that they were users and witnesses of how Chileans travel to Argentina to buy food, but they also claimed to see how Argentines come to Chile to buy clothes or appliances. appliances.
In Futaleufú, where according to González “there is one American clothing store per block”, he says there are many Argentines who enjoy shopping there.
In contrast, in Punta Arenas, García and Vargas say it is common to see Argentines arriving on weekends to buy televisions, electrical appliances, computers and clothes.
“For them, these items are much cheaper here,” explains the latter.
Side effects on the economy
In the midst of a scenario in which Chileans and Argentines cross the border to buy the products that best suit them in relation to local scenarios, the academic from the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences of the Universidad de los Andes, Javier Mella, explain to The third that there are a series of socio-economic factors that explain this phenomenon.
“Indeed, something that is observed is the weakening of the Argentine currency and that means that many products, especially those that may be of local origin and also services that are not tradable, have a lower price compared to Chile (…) It must also be taken into account that historically our extreme south has been strongly interconnected with Argentina, due to a geographical problem”.
Regarding this kind of exchange of buyers who go from one country to another, he points out that “this is perhaps the most striking thing and what makes this case different from the others”.
“It has not so much to do with what is happening (economically) in Chile, but rather with the distortion of prices in Argentina, where there are a series of different exchange rates and dollars for various products, imports and exports. , among others. factors. In addition, there are different taxes that vary depending on the goods we analyze”.
In this sense, it illustrates that items such as imported computers have a high rate in the neighboring country, which would explain why it is more expensive for them to come here to buy them.
“It’s more a question of taxes and exchange rates in Argentina than in Chile. The price system that is distorted is in fact the one there,” he insists, only to add later that the depreciation of the Argentine peso also influenced this scenario.
“If we think about the case here, you could say there is a positive effect with this shopping tourism from them.”
In the meantime, the shoppers interviewed in this article plan to continue to take advantage of the prices they find on the other side of the Cordillera, even if the queues can be longer at the crossing on weekends and holidays. .
“If there are a lot of people, it might take an hour there,” says García, “but there is a (price) difference, so we should go buy there.”
Source: Latercera
I am David Jack and I have been working in the news industry for over 10 years. As an experienced journalist, I specialize in covering sports news with a focus on golf. My articles have been published by some of the most respected publications in the world including The New York Times and Sports Illustrated.
