Although there is a strong local production of this input, the same They are intended for amateur athletes, while professional tennis players use better quality balls that are generally imported. In both cases, the demand cannot be satisfied.
Professional tournaments feature a minimum quality standard that implies that the balls to be used must necessarily be imported. Unable to obtain the necessary supplies, several children’s and youth tournaments of the Argentine Tennis Association were canceled this year.
The reasons behind this situation are several, among which are the tax issues, import blocks, different anti-dumping positions, the problems of international transport, lack of investment and the variable exchange rate.
What generates that today it is not possible to meet the demand that currently exists in the Argentine market, which requires approximately 700,000 to 1,000,000 balls per month on a continuous basis.
The main axis of this problem can be found in national manufacturers of tennis balls that they fail to produce to the maximum of their capacity and generate a lack of supply of this product.
In the country, there are two large companies that deal with this sector: Mafer y Penn. The first has the capacity to produce approximately 5,000 balls per day, while the second has a capacity of approximately 26,000 per day. But as they assured from both companies, they are currently operating at half their capacity.
On the other hand, the lack of importers willing to bring tennis balls constantly as well strongly affected the supply available in the market. It happens that the companies that represent foreign firms Babolat, Wilson, Dunlop and Head in the country do not manage to maintain a regularity in the entry of merchandise.
The reason is focused both on questions of monetary and tariff regulation Although what seems to influence the entry of products the most is the waiting time until the merchandise can be removed from the Customs which usually takes between three and six months.
the real losers are the major regional and national tournaments. This is because they are the main demanders of the product nationwide.
The Corrientes juvenile and juvenile tournament, among several others, could not be played, while the Argentine Tennis Association analyzes how to deal with this crisis in sport and thus be able to maintain competitiveness in training levels.
