Economy
Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez is turning 10 years in power in less than one month. While a decade has elapsed, the Venezuelan ruler keeps promising that Venezuela "will be a major agricultural and industrial power," particularly in the area of food.

Chávez mentioned particularly oil seeds such as edible oil and margarine. He said that "we are heightening sunflower production. (In the past) Venezuela has imported 100 percent of the product but now we have reduced imports. There will come a day when Venezuela will export this product rather than importing it." 

President Chávez also said that his government would build an industrial compound in Turén, central Portuguesa state, including a plant processing sunflower oil. "Venezuela has a great potential to grow sunflower. I grew up among sunflowers, but the governments of AD and Copei (the two traditional parties in Venezuela until the late 90's) put an end to sunflower production (...) They chose to import edible oil." 

According to official statistics, the national monthly consumption of margarine is about 130,000 tons while the consumption of edible oil is 235,000 tons. In fact, Venezuela imports currently 90 percent of the raw material the domestic processing industry needs to meet local demand, while the increase of soybean and sunflower production has not curbed the dependence on imports.

According to the Annual Report and Accounts of the Ministry of Food, in 2007 the authorities issued licenses to import 279,000 tons of oil seeds, 275,000 tons of soybean meal and 107,000 tons of yellow fat. The Corporation of Food Supply and Agricultural Services (CASA) imported for the Food Market Program (Mercal) 23,150 tons of margarine and 39,000 tons of processed soybean oil.

However, despite Chávez's wishes, the Ministry of Food reported that in 2007 it issued only one export license, for the equivalent of 20 kilos of sunflower oil.

Meager production figures
Since 1998, the production of items such as sesame oil, sunflower oil, palm oil, soybean oil or peanuts does not meet the needs of the Venezuelan market. According to data released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Land, provided by the Federation of Agricultural Associations (Fedeagro), in 1998-2007, the production of sesame oil fell from 27,300 tons to 17,000 tons (down 37.6 percent); whereas the production of palm oil dropped from 338,700 tons to 327,700 (down 3.2 percent).

In the same period, soybean production increased significantly from 5,680 tons to 60,180 tons (959 percent) while the production of sunflower grew from 5,600 tons to 15,500 tons (176 percent), but their growth came only in 2006-2007.
etovar@eluniversal.com

Translated by Gerardo Cárdenas

Ernesto J. Tovar
EL UNIVERSAL