In the program “Welcome to the train” to Bravo TV, Juan Di Natale The discussion has opened recently Liberalization of the bottled gas market. “Deregulation is really scary, isn’t it? It’s a word that scares us,” the host said when introducing him. Dario SimonetI, President of CAFADIGAS, the Argentine Federal Chamber of LNG Manufacturers, Distributors and Manufacturers.
Simonetti described a decisive panorama for the sector after amending the organizational chart. As he explained, this action led to the “proliferation of underground distributors,” a situation that, in addition to affecting more than 220 small and medium companiesleads to a serious security problem. “Anyone who sets up a pickup truck goes out to distribute bottles, which creates terrible public insecurity,” he warned.
The leader explained that previously there was a controlled marketing chain – producer, retailer and distributor – but this is the case today “Anyone can sell gas.”even less than the cost of an authorized distributor. This encourages unfair competition and leaves family businesses in this sector on the verge of closure. “More than 3,500 jobs are at risk,” he said.
The problem directly affects users. Simonetti stressed that the economic benefit does not reach homes: “Users will not benefit, and we will not pay a cheaper price per bottle.” On the contrary, he warned, the lack of controls opens the door to illegal collection operations “in inappropriate places, near parks and schools,” where the explosive product is handled without safety measures.
Cavadigas has already implemented more than… 200 complaints “Before the Ministry of Energy and various municipalities,” in addition to filing a lawsuit to declare the decree allowing these changes unconstitutional. But they stress that they have not yet received any real responses. “We do not want to wait for a tragedy to occur,” Simonetti insisted, recalling recent cases of explosions in secret warehouses that endanger neighbors.
When asked who would benefit from this new scenario, he was strong but cautious: “There are three companies…because of my management, I cannot name them.”He stated that the dominant position is concentrated in a very small number of players.
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Finally, he stressed that the solution would be simple if there was a decision from the state: “It is very easy to put an inspector in every retail plant and the issue will be resolved very quickly.” At the same time, the sector warns about this The formal market is becoming increasingly unviable.
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