LatinNews Regional Monitor: Brazil & Southern Cone - 14 May 2020

* Brazil’s national statistics institute (Ibge) has released the latest figures for the retail sector, which show that sales fell 2.5% month-on-month in March 2020, and 1.2% year-on-year. The paralysis of the economy as a result of isolation measures adopted from mid-March to control the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) was expected to take its toll on the retail sector, and the Ibge notes that sales did not decrease further thanks to an uptick in the activity of essential businesses, notably supermarkets. Supermarkets and hypermarkets saw their sales grow by 14.6% in March, compared with February, while sales in the pharmaceutical, medical, and cosmetics category increased by 1.3%. These are the only two categories, out of eight surveyed, to have seen an improvement in retail sales in March.  

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