Why I Still Buy from the States

These two pictures are from one of the local grocery stores.  See the way they have Ziploc bags?  They've been broken down into packages of no more than ten.  Now notice the prices (easier in the second picture).  A dollar is worth approximately 18-19 Uruguayan pesos at the moment.  Yes, you too can come here and buy four gallon sized Ziploc storage bags for more than two dollars! 

Why, you ask, is the price so high?  There are a few reasons.  Uruguay has a general tariff.  This tariff adds at least 50% to the price of everything imported from anywhere other than Brazil or Argentina.  On top of that, it has an extra eco-tax on everything plastic that gets imported.  It adds even more.  Uruguay does not have a real plastics industry.  There aren't even more than a couple of molding shops.  This means that everything plastic here costs a fortune.  So.  I order my Ziploc bags in bulk from Amazon.  Most other things, I do the same with.  It's rather sad.  In trying to protect its economy, the country is hindering it severely.  Consumers here have such artificially high prices that they cannot buy more than the basics, and end up unable to add much to the overall betterment of the country.