Venezuelan food producers must sell to state

VENEZUELA’S embattled government has taken the drastic step of forcing food producers to sell their produce to the state, in an attempt to counter the ever-worsening shortages.

Farmers and manufacturers who produce milk, pasta, oil, rice, sugar and flour have been told to supply between 30 and 100 per cent of their produce to the state stores. Shortages, rationing and queues outside supermarkets have become a way of life for Venezuelans, as their isolated country battles against rigid currency controls and a shortage of US dollars – making it difficult for Venezuelans to procure imported goods.

Pablo Baraybar, the president of the Venezuelan Food Industry Chamber, said that the order was illogical, and damaging to Venezuelan consumers.

“Taking products from the supermarkets and shops to hand them over to the state network doesn’t help in any way,” he said.

He said the order would play into the hands of profiteers who stockpile goods and sell at a profit. He pointed to statistics showing that two thirds of hoarders bought their goods from the three state-owned chains.

“Consumers will be forced to spend more time in queues, given that the goods will be available in fewer stores,” he said. The state owns 7,245 stores, compared with more than 113,000 in private hands. Mr Baraybar said that many of the state shops were in remote areas, meaning people would have to make longer journeys.