The recent protests in Chile have cost the commercial sector an estimated 1.4 billion U.S. dollars, the Santiago Chamber of Commerce (SCC) said Friday.
Rioters looted more than 600 supermarkets and damaged property, causing losses of at least 900 million dollars, the SCC said, adding that Chilean retailers have lost about 500 million dollars in sales.
Over 25,000 businesses with more than 400,000 employees have been impacted, and most of them are small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the chamber added.
As the commercial sector employs more than 1.3 million people, it is necessary to avoid an escalation of the situation, the SCC said.
"The first week of the emergency could result in the loss of 5 percentage points of growth in the sector, a magnitude that will worsen over the next days, depending on the evolution of events," the SCC said. "The sector will probably shrink in October."
"The magnitude of the impact on employment and investment will depend on the duration of the current period of instability and uncertainty," the SCC said.
Protests were sparked on Oct. 14 by an increase in subway fares, and grew to reflect widespread discontent with Chile's conservative administration.
On Oct. 19, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera declared a state of emergency and imposed in most of the country a curfew that is still in force in many regions.
