The government has announced that $100 notes will continue to be imported from Brazil throughout 2011. It is estimated that between $1bn and $1.2bn is the amount needed to avoid a repetition of recent money shortages.

Over the last two months there has been a drastic shortage of high level currency across the country, leading to long queues at cash points and people being unable to withdraw money from their accounts.

The Argentine government turned to Brazil for assistance in quickly producing $100 bills to counter the problem. The notes which have been printed in Brazil bear some visible differences to those printed in Argentina, but are accepted on an equal basis.

Alongside the help being received from the Brazilian mint, the Argentine government is trying to secure a new printing facility within the country so that it can be self-dependent. Old printing machines are said to be being brought from their neighbours, as the Brazilian printing industry has recently updated their technology and installed new machinery, according to La Nación.

Another scheme introduced to counter the shortage, requires all businesses to offer the option of card payments. This not only reduces the need for hard currency but also counters the thriving black economy by involving more transparent transactions. However, this scheme has suffered from delays in its implementation and is yet to be enforced.

An alternative option put forward by the opposition and economy experts is to introduce a new note of higher value, such as $200. This would be a clear sign of inflation and has been rejected by the government so far.

Looking further forward, both countries would like to be able to provide money printing services to other countries suffering from similar circumstances, a possibly discussed with the Brazilian president, Dilma Rousseff, in her recent visit to Buenos Aires.