Argentinina Retail Coffee Market: Effects of Instability on Pricing

MELLER, LEANDRO; LARROSA, JUAN M.C.; URIARTE, JUAN IGNACIO; RAMÍREZ MUÑOS DE TORO, GONZALO

Buenos Aires

Congreso; LVI Reunión Anual de la Asociación Argentina de Economía Política; 2021

Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires

Coffeeranks among the most important drinks in the World. In Argentina it has anincreasing place in the household consumption pattern. As in most foodsmarkets, attributes play key roles in pricing but in a context of increasinginflation and exchange rate devaluations pricing becomes more complex. Weanalyze how micro-determinants affect the rate of price variation andpromotions in the retail coffee sector under increasing inflation. We identifya predictable strong influence of black market and official exchange rate inboth variables but also in diverse attributes such mainly brands and alsoprocessing, grain, and variant. We also present a detailed impact of the timingin pricing: weekly, monthly, yearly, and even lockdown effects are presentedand discussed.