Blame game in Argentina over shortage of tampons

In Argentina, tampons have become scarce the last two weeks — and the shortage has turned demand for one of the most personal of personal hygiene products into a public debate over who’s to blame. Government officials and product importers tossed blame at one another Wednesday, with the Argentine government insinuating that businesses are trying to drive up prices. Twitter has exploded with jokes and complaints about the shortage. Some said Argentina was becoming more like Cuba and Venezuela, where hygiene products frequently are hard to find. Marcelo Yarmaian, a spokesman for Johnson & Johnson, one of the main providers of tampons in Argentina, told the country’s official news agency Telam that the shortages mainly affected boxes of the most popular sizes and quantities, not tampons overall. The company said it was working with distributors to make sure “the product is available on the shelves shortly.”

I was looking for three days. Luckily, my sister, who was there, saved me. She had some that I brought back to Buenos Aires.

30-year-old Daniela Perez

In recent months, Argentina has tightened its already strict control on foreign currencies in an attempt to curb inflation and capital flight. The government hopes that by restricting currency exchanges, it will protect reserves at home needed to pay off its debts. That has often made it hard for importers to get the funds they need to buy products abroad. The restrictions on imports, combined with high inflation in South America’s second-largest economy, have led to periodic shortages of pharmaceutical products in recent years, such as latex gloves and needles. Argentina imports most tampons from neighboring Brazil. The head of the importers chamber says it’ll take months to normalize because people are now panic buying and stocking up on tampons.

People see the news, get alarmed, and then go out and stock up.

Miguel Ponce, head of the Chamber of Importers

Americas