Balance of the year for SMEs in Buenos Aires: the worst situation since the pandemic

Today 11:06

The year 2025 ends as one of the most challenging in the history of Argentina’s SME economy. If anyone thought that the impact of the pandemic had reached a low point, reality shows that we have had things much worse this year. With declining activity, weaker consumption, falling production and the lack of public policies that actively address the restoration of our production network.

The latest industry data leaves no room for doubt. According to the Argentine Confederation of Medium Enterprises (CAME) survey, in November 2025, retail sales of SMEs fell by 4.1% year-on-year, measured at constant prices, with six out of seven items declining and a sharp seasonally adjusted monthly decline to -9.1%. This means lower consumption and increasingly strict operating conditions for smaller companies.

The labor reform does not indicate where informality prevails: in SMEs

SME

These data, which show clear signs of systematic declines in sales and production, lead not only to negative balance sheets, but also to negative balance sheets for companies whose cash flow is restricted, the number of orders falls and it becomes more difficult to maintain registered jobs.

A sector that has been hit on all fronts
The SMEs in Buenos Aires, which form the backbone of our production and employment, face a number of problems that severely affect their performance:
● Weak domestic consumption with a decline in sales of traditional items such as bazaar, food and textiles.
● Underutilized installed capacity, result of low demand and lack of production incentives.
● Labor costs and oppressive fiscal pressures, with no clear relief or significant reductions that encourage productive formality.
● Difficulties in accessing productive credit on competitive terms that enable investment or asset renewal.

● Uneven competition with imports entering at lower prices and putting pressure on local profitability margins.

This situation can no longer be described as a “temporary” recessionary economic cycle: it is the result of inadequate public policies, the absence of a strategic plan for productive reactivation and a fiscal framework that does not encourage formality or investment.

Comparison to crisis management in pandemics

Although the decline during the pandemic was profound, various support mechanisms such as subsidies, soft loans and temporary restrictions were activated, which mitigated the collapse of the productive fabric. Today, SMEs face a similar or even greater setback, exacerbated by the lack of government response, which increases business discouragement and limits the ability to make short-term improvements. The uncertainty is overwhelming for all of us

Daniel Rosato of Industriales Pymes praised the work termination fund proposed by the reform

Don’t neglect SMEsTo the heads of state and provinces, I say with the utmost institutional responsibility : There will be no sustainable recovery plan if SMEs are not put at the center of the economic agenda.

It is SMEs, especially in the province of Buenos Aires, that have always provided real employment, boosted the regional economy and generated innovation in productive and social sectors.
With this in mind, we ask the authorities:
● That they design incentive policies for national and export production.
● That they provide temporary tax relief that allows activity to continue.
● That they promote financial instruments that do not reproduce the distortions of the capital market for small businesses.

● That they involve SMEs in the formulation of reforms and listen to those who live them every day. At FEBA We remain committed to supporting our partners and the more than 250 business chambers in Buenos Aires.

Our work includes training, technical support, productive linking tools and continuous monitoring of economic reality to provide concrete answers in this complex scenario. SMEs not only support production and employment; They support dreams, families and the economic cohesion of our country.

It is imperative that public policy recognizes this role and acts strategically and for the long term.