Food shortages worry Venezuelans

[hack89]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by LaurenG (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

(CNN) -- During a recent visit to Guaicaipuro, a traditional market in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, a fresh meat refrigerator sat empty at a grocery. Many consumers looking for beef, poultry or fish had to go home empty-handed.
The produce section looked well stocked with plenty of fruits and vegetables. But consumers shopping at Guaicaipuro complained that prices, even for basic products, had skyrocketed.

Venezuela has the highest annual inflation in Latin America. It soared to 27.6 percent in November. In an effort to curb this inflation, the government set price caps on as many as 15,000 goods in late November. The price of 18 products, including toothpaste, soap and diapers, which are considered "basic," was immediately frozen.

Jorge Roig, vice president of Fedecamaras, a Venezuelan association that pulls together businesses, including many producers of basic goods, blames the new government price caps and regulations for the shortages.

"People are doing panic buying. With these price caps, people are buying more than they need because they know many factories are not going to be able to produce their products. Production has gone down because there are price caps, production is not cost-effective and we have these conditions that discourage investment," Roig said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/13/world/americas/venezuela-food-shortages/index.html?hpt=ila_c1

[Zalatix]

1. The shortages came first, or the inflation came first?

And did the Government issue a rule against hoarding? That's a key safeguard.

[joshcryer]

3. Nearly 30% inflation annually for several years now.

So yeah inflation came first, the recent shortages are predictable, they're based on a price fixing which caused severe hoarding.

[phasma ex machina]

2. Coming soon to America courtesy of central bank stimulus (ie bonuses to the 1%)

[Little Tich]

4. The Venezuelan people have to get rid of Hugo Chavez.

They will have their chance in the presidential election to be held in October next year. The damage he has done to venezuela is not irreversible, but it will take several years to build up the country to pre-Chavez levels once he's gone.

[MindMover]

5. Hugo will be gone soon enough, and not due to the people getting rid of him......

he has terminal cancer.....mother nature is doing her work.....

[sabrina 1]

7. That will be a sad day for the people of Venezuela. My friends there laugh at these Western articles

bashing 'Socialism'. Thank god for Wikileaks, which revealed, to the embarrassment of the West, the huge effort they make to get negative articles published in their Corporate media here.

]The produce section looked well stocked with plenty of fruits and vegetables. But consumers shopping at Guaicaipuro complained that prices, even for basic products, had skyrocketed.

As if that isn't happening all over the world. Coffee, eg, here has almost doubled in price this year.

If we weren't after the control of Venezuela's oil, we would be reading articles about all the good things going on there. Or if they had no oil, we would not be reading about them at all.

It was instructive to read the confirmation in the wikileaks cables of what we have long suspected, the propaganda against Venezuela in the Western media is not accidental, and it costs money. So, why would they spend millions to undermine a country that is none of our business?

Hugo should just hand over his country's resources to the control of Western Oil Cartels or they will simply do what the did in Iraq. Mission IS accomplished in Iraq. Over 80% of their oil is now controlled by Global Oil Corps.

And if would just be a good little puppet, we would be reading great things about Venezuela.

[totodeinhere]

9. Is there 30% inflation and food shortages there or not? n/t

[newfie11]

16. Thank you for telling the truth! n/t

[joshcryer]

8. I expect HCR to win the elections. He's loved and adored across Miranda.

I think Chavez' cancer is under control for the most part, though it'll likely kill him, it won't be before the elections.

[MindMover]

10. never said he was not loved or adored........so was HITLER........nt

[joshcryer]

11. HCR = Henrique Capriles Radonski

Gotta follow the Venezuelan elections a bit closer as their initials are used a lot.

Hugo Chavez = HC
Henrique Capriles Radonski = HCR
Leopoldo López = LL
María Corina Machado = MCM

Just so you know.

[joshcryer]

12. Just in case you don't know, HCR is the govorner of Miranda...

...and it's the second most populous state in Venezuela. Hugo Chavez is not super popular there. HCR is running an education and reconciliation platform, and he's built more schools with less money than the Chavista's over the same period of time.

[MindMover]

13. thank you for the clarification, and my mistake......good speed to HCR....power to the people.....nt

[sabrina 1]

14. Wow

Fyi, the Venezuelan people are pretty smart. To accuse them of supporting, a Hitler clone is a pretty reprehensible charge not to mention just plain ignorant. Chavez has been elected over and over again by the Ven. people in some of the most fair elections anywhere. I guess you're saying the Venezuelan people are all Nazis. The smears just keep escalating. We must be getting impatient regarding controlling all that oil. How dare a duly elected president of a sovereign nation get in our way. Doesn't he know that is OUR oil he is sitting on?

All that propaganda money has worked well. I was hoping it would only work on rightwingers, who always hate any South American or ME or African leader who supports the right of their people to free education, to free healthcare and to affordable housing and and who provides for the disabled and the elderly, and the poor.

To the Far Right, a National Health Care system is only for 'lieberal commies' and caring for society's most vulnerable is a crime. But I do not understand the flip flopping on the left on South American nations who finally got out from under the influence of Global Corporate powers and established their independence. Just a few years ago the left was fully supportive of all that democracy in South America.

Since when did the 'Left' join the 'Right' in their hatred for those countries who actually do take care of their people?

[MindMover]

15. ridiculous propaganda talk from yesterday......oil, smoil.....did anyone say human rights violations

if this report is not independent enough for you.....I will cite personal experiences.....

http://www.cidh.oas.org/pdf%20files/VENEZUELA%202009%20ENG.pdf

[Prometheus Bound]

6. Nestle fined by Venezuela in milk probe (hoarding powdered milk for infants)

Nestle fined by Venezuela in milk probe
December 03, 2011
Venezuela has fined the Swiss food giant Nestle $88,000 under a new consumer protection law for holding back some 25 tons of powdered milk for infants, news reports said Friday.

Officials said Nestle had retained the milk in its warehouses in eastern Venezuela but not brought them on the market.

The penalty stems from a new law that regulates the prices of all goods and services and seeks to contain the high domestic inflation rate running at 22.7 percent so far the year.

The milk must be brought to the point of sale and the warehouse will be audited so that future shipments of the product can be distributed, said Arquimedes Barrios, of the consumer protection agency Indepabis.

Business leaders complain the law is a blow to the market economy and warn that shortages could result from enforcement.

Nestle meanwhile had argued it could not deliver the milk because of a lack of trucks.
http://www.brecorder.com/agriculture-a-allied/single/624/183/1257478/

[dipsydoodle]

17. This is an article

not LBN.