International Trade
Incoming cargo at Puerto Cabello:
- 66,000 tons of rice for CASA.
33 thousand tons from the US and 33,000 tons from Brasil.
- 31,600 tons of corn from
Argentina.
- 2,900 tons of MT Neodene from
Shell Chemical for Química Venoco
- 1,594 tons of paper and
cardboard cutouts for Cartón de Venezuela
- 1,045 tons of milk and cream
for CASA
- 900 tons of chicken and margarine
from Jamaica, for CASA
- 644 tons of fresh pork for CASA
- 573 tons of paper from Pérez
Trading for INVEPAL
- 515 tons of sweetened condensed
milk for Banco Nacional de Crédito
- 436 tons of beans from Chile
- 368 tons of roofing sheets from
Fletes Consolidados
- 314 tons of beef for Podra y
Distribuidora
- 291 tons of floor tiles for
Hierro Cojedes Mérida
- 247 tons of toilet paper from
Jamaica, for Papeles Venezolanos.
- 187 tons of expandable polymers
from Polioles for Pequiven
- 121 tons of building material
for PDVSA
- 85 tons of newsprint from
Britain for Engelbert Transportes INT.
- 55 tons of type 1 cement for
Invecem 55
- Milk and cream, fresh pork and
frozen beef for CASA
- Sanitary napkins for Procter
& Gamble
Exports from Puerto
Cabello:
- 414 tons of coaxial and electric
cable for Chicago and Houston.
Twelve ships remain at anchor. More in Spanish:
(Notitarde; http://www.notitarde.com/La-Costa/Desembarcaron-mas-de-60-mil-toneladas-de-arroz-2172515/2014/06/04/331407; http://www.notitarde.com/La-Costa/Descargaron-pollo-y-margarina-en-el-puerto-local-2173109/2014/06/06/331599; http://www.notitarde.com/La-Costa/Llegaron-mas-de-600-toneladas-de-carne-de-cerdo-2171956/2014/06/03/331121 El Carabobeño; http://www.el-carabobeno.com/impreso/articulo/102838/-leche,-nata-y-carne-de-cerdo-arribaron-al-puerto-carabobeo)
Some shippers have adjusted their rates to the
SICAD II exchange rate
Some shipping lines have started to charge for
their services and operations - among them the use of containers and container
delays - using the SICAD II exchange rate (approximately VEB 50/U$D1). More in
Spanish: (Notitarde; http://www.notitarde.com/La-Costa/Algunas-lineas-navieras-empezaron-a-cobrar-sus-servicios-a-tasa-Sicad-II-2171955/2014/06/03/331120)
Logistics
& Transport
Venezuela
now conditions airline repayment to tariff adjustments
Humberto Figuera,
President of Venezuela's Airline Association (ALAV) says authorities have
established a new and unforeseen condition for repaying the government's
pending FOREX debt with airlines. He says that once repayment terms that are
being established with some airlines are approved by the Ministry for Aquatic
and Air Transport, and the Civil Aviation Authority, authorities are requesting
a "tariff schedule" from
the airlines. Figuera says that "if
these tariffs are agreeable to authorities they go ahead with repayment; if
they are not, payments are not scheduled. This is a new condition that was not
set in agreements reached on May 29th". More in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/140606/autoridades-supeditan-pago-a-aerolineas-a-nuevo-esquema-de-tarifas; El Mundo, http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/economia/empresas/a-la-fecha-7-aerolineas-han-concretado-pacto--pero.aspx)
CORPOVEX could cause
shutdown of 3,000 customs agencies
The National Customs Agencies Association (ASONAGA)
and the Chamber of Customs Users and Professionals (CADUAINCO) warn that CORPOVEX
could replace customs agencies. Concerns are based on the latest FOREX tender under
the First Ancillary Foreign Currency Administration System (SICAD 1), in which
the National Center for Foreign Trade (CENCOEX) said purchase orders for FOREX can
be placed via CORPOVEX only, instead of public banks. This means CORPOVEX will become
the broker. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/140605/fears-that-corpovex-leads-to-shutdown-of-3000-customs-agencies)
Oil &
Energy
PDVSA signed agreements with ENI and REPSOL to exploit condensed reserves
(natural gas liquids) in the Perla 3X gas field, located off shore Falcón
state, 50 kilometers off the Paraguaná Refining Complex. In 2010, the three oil
companies concluded tests that confirmed the existence of 15 billion cubic feet
gas in that field. (Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=39630&idc=4;
El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/140605/pdvsa-signs-agreements-with-eni-repsol;
Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2332337&CategoryId=10718)
Economy
& Finance
PDVSA expected to seek
bank loan to pay off bonds due in 2014
Petroleos de
Venezuela S.A (PDVSA) is seeking a loan to pay off U$D 3 billion of debt that matures this
year and isn’t planning additional dollar bond sales in 2014, according to a
company official familiar with the matter. PDVSA expects to obtain a seven- to
eight-year loan from an international bank and then work to refinance an
additional U$D 11.9 billion of debt due through 2017, according to the
official, who asked not to be identified. The plan to limit debt sales for the
rest of the year comes after the company said May 14 that it was selling U$D 5
billion in notes due in 2024 in a private placement to state banks. Barclays
Psaid the next day that it expected PDVSA’s new issuance for the year to exceed
its previously forecast amount of U$D 6 billion because of a shortage of
dollars in the country and a “large
concentration of payments” due in the last quarter of the year. (Bloomberg,
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-05/pdvsa-said-to-seek-bank-loan-to-pay-off-bonds-due-in-2014.html)
Lower gold price puts
further pressure on Venezuelan international reserves
Gold prices have entered a downward spiral
which, if unstopped, will have a serious impact on Venezuela, as gold makes up
70.7% of the country's international reserves. Early on Thursday, the gold
price was estimated at U$D 1,246 per ounce, which means a U$D 46 drop (3.5%)
with respect to May. US multinational investment banking firm Goldman Sachs
estimates that the downturn will continue until gold averages U$D 1,050 during
the rest of the year. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/140605/lower-gold-price-puts-further-pressure-on-venezuelan-international-res)
Venezuela sacrifices drinking water to pay bondholders
At a time when Venezuela’s record U$D 25 billion in arrears to importers has its
citizens waiting hours in line to buy drinking water and crossing borders in
search of medicine, President Nicolas Maduro is using the nation’s dwindling
supply of dollars to enrich bondholders. Venezuela, which imports just about
everything, and its state oil producer have paid U$D 2.8 billion in interest to
overseas creditors this year, according to Barclays. Including debt principal,
bondholder outlays will balloon to almost U$D 10 billion by year-end, the
London-based firm estimates. (Bloomberg, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-05/venezuela-sacrifices-drinking-water-to-pay-bondholders.html)
Politics
Lopez and students to
remain in jail until trial, Capriles terms Venezuela's justice
"rotten"
A Venezuelan judge has ordered opposition
leader Leopoldo Lopez to stand trial on charges of instigating violence at an
anti-government protest in February. Lopez of the Popular Will party has been
in jail since he handed himself in to the authorities on 18 February. If found
guilty, Lopez could face up to 10 years in jail. Judge Adriana Lopez made the
decision to send Lopez for trial shortly after 03:00 (07:30 GMT) after a
marathon session which began on Monday. Lilian Tintori, Lopez's wife said he
would face charges of damaging property, arson and instigating violence.
Attorneys for López expect the trial to be held toward the end of August, and
believe it will be very short as the defense has been denied the right to
present witnesses and evidence to prove his innocence. Two students, Marco
Coello and Christian Holdack, who have been behind bars since February on
charges of alleged "public instigation, arson, damages and collusion"
will also remain in jail and face a trial. Upon learning the news, former
opposition Presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said the decision has
hatched by the regime and called Venezuela's system of justice "rotten". (BBC;
Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=39640&idc=1;
El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/140605/judge-gives-the-green-light-to-sue-leopoldo-lopez-in-jail; http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/140605/lopezs-attorneys-we-will-face-trial-tied-and-silent;
http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/140605/capriles-court-ruling-against-lopez-was-hatched-by-the-govt;
and more in Spanish: Infolatam)
Prosecutor summons
Machado and other opposition leaders for alleged assassination plot
Following charges by Jorge Rodríguez, a leader
of the pro-government PSUV party, of a plot to assassinate President Maduro and
stage a "military coup", Venezuela's
General Prosecutor Luisa Ortega has issued warrants summoning deposed
legislator María Corina Machado, Ambassador Diego Arria, former President of
the UN Security Council; former Presidential candidate Henrique Salas-Römer;
former PDVSA director Pedro Burelli, and others to her office to "pursue this investigation". Rodríguez went
on nationwide radio and TV to show several emails allegedly sent by Machado to
several of the individuals now summoned. The mails also mentioned the new US
Ambassador to Colombia, Kevin Whitaker. Machado has accused Rodríguez of
presenting fake emails, and denies seeking an assassination or a coup. She
simply asks Maduro to resign. More in Spanish: (Infolatam)
International Jurists
Commission says Venezuela's 'very weak' judiciary undermines rule of law
Venezuela's judiciary is persecuting students,
dissidents and independent judges while turning a blind eye to most crimes in a
country with one of the world's highest murder rates, says an international
human rights watchdog. About 1,500 students face prosecution after three months
of street protests this year with no evidence they took part in any criminal
act, including about 160 still behind bars, the International Commission of
Jurists (ICJ) said. Forty-two people, including 38 civilians, were killed in
the daily marches to decry crime, inflation and food shortages in Venezuela.
Excessive use of force by security forces has been documented as well as least
14 alleged cases of torture. (Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/05/us-venezuela-judiciary-idUSKBN0EG1SP20140605)
US says the decision to keep López in jail hurts
"dialogue"
Marie Harf, deputy spokesperson for the US
State Department, says the decision to keep López in jail while awaiting trial
is "damaging" to the
dialogue between the regime and the Venezuelan opposition. She added that the
US government believes "dialogue is
the way to go" in Venezuela, and "not political arrests and an attempt to criminalize dissent".
More in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/140606/eeuu-dice-que-prision-de-lopez-perjudica-el-dialogo)
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