CARACAS – Venezuela’s Price Regulator has declared new “fair” prices for various foods.
As reported on the Regulator’s website:
- A kilogram of sugar will be sold for 9.72 bolivars ($1.54 at official exchange rate of 6.3 bolivars per dollar)
- A kilogram of chicken will cost 43 bolivars ($6.82)
- A kilogram of coffee will cost 46.6 bolivars ($7.40), and
- A kilogram of rice will cost 9.5 bolivars ($1.50)
This follows Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro signing law to adjust prices to “fair” levels and limit profit margins to 30% back in January.
Venezuela’s economy will shrink 1 percent this year, according to a median estimate of eleven economists surveyed by Bloomberg last month.
President Nicolas Maduro is introducing a controversial shopping card intended to combat the country’s food shortages.
Shortages of everything from water to car parts and flour to pregnancy tests come after three months of protests against the government of President Nicolas Maduro that have left at least 41 people dead.
The government has said it will start rationing electricity and water as drought drains hydroelectric reservoirs and water tanks.
Ford Motor Co. has recently halted production in the South American country, joining Toyota Motor Corp. and Dutch truck-maker CNH Industrial NV, because of the difficulty of obtaining dollars to import parts from the government.
