International Trade
Incoming cargo at Puerto Cabello:
- 33,000 tons of soy flour from Argentina, for
CASA.
- 33, 000 tons of white corn from Mexico, for CASA
- 30,000 tons of paddy rice from Brazil, for CASA
- 2,428 tons, 877 kg of chicken from Argentina and
Uruguay for CASA
- 1.023 tons of printing paper from Brasil for Industria
Venezolana Endógena de Papel (INVEPAL)
- 832 tons of cheese and milk powder from Uruguay
for Distribuidora Greacla and General de Alimentos Nisa
- 680 ton of bean seeds for CASA
- 436 tons of machinery for cargo handling for
Empresa Mixta Comercializadora
- 234 tons of medicine from Farmacuba to Fundación
Oro Negro
- 118 tons of food preparations from Italia for
Inversiones Nutralia
- Shampoo and conditioner arrived for
Procter&Gamble
- Prefabricated construction, for PDVSA
IndustrialPersonal care products, milk, cream, tires, refractory bricks,
frozen chicken, lentils and tomato paste.
Twelve vessels remain at anchor. More in Spanish:
(Notitarde; http://www.notitarde.com/La-Costa/Desembarcaron-mas-de-2-mil-toneladas-de-pollo-para-Casa-2176757/2014/06/12/332901; http://www.notitarde.com/La-Costa/Llego-harina-de-soya-arroz-y-maiz-blanco-2177467/2014/06/12/333013)
Customs charges will adjust to the new exchange rates
Tariffs applied to incoming goods will henceforth charge
at the SICAD I or SICAD II rates, as applicable. The VEB 6.30/U$D1 rate will no
longer be used. More in Spanish: (Notitarde; http://www.notitarde.com/La-Costa/Tasa-de-impuesto-aduanero-dependera-del-tipo-de-cambio-2176758/2014/06/12/332902)
Customs workers protested in Vargas state to demand the repeal of the presidential decree
creating the Venezuelan Foreign Trade Corporation, CORPOVEX. Protestors marched
to the maritime Customs House. (Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=39737&idc=3)
Logistics
& Transport
Aviation authorities give airlines five days to submit
airfares, airlines insist on a signed repayment agreement
General Hebert García Plaza, Minister for Aquatic and
Air Transportation has told airline representatives that the government will
soon establish parameters for adjusting airfares to and from Venezuela. Once
the resolution is published airlines will be required to submit their
adjustments within 5 days. Major airlines operating here insist they will not
reach an agreement unless the government must signs an agreement for repayment
of its FOREX debt. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/140612/aviation-authorities-give-airlines-five-days-to-submit-airfares;
and more in Spanish: (El Nacional; http://www.el-nacional.com/)
Oil &
Energy
The OPEC will keep its current production decided at the end of 2011. Delegates
of member nations have reached a consensus to maintain the 30 million barrels
per day ceiling. (Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=39739&idc=4)
Curacao's government and PDVSA will jointly
seek investors for the Isla Refinery
Officials in Curacao say their government will
join PDVSA in seeking investors for the island's ISLA Refinery, which is leased
to PDVSA through 2019. The 96 year old refinery requires massive investment.
More in Spanish: (En Oriente, http://enoriente.com/canales/yvn/29365-gobierno-de-curazao-y-pdvsa-firman-acuerdo-para-buscar-inversionistas)
Economy
& Finance
Central Bank confirms 5.7% inflation in April,
and 5.7% again in May
The bank says
inflation has been propelled by political strife. Accumulated inflation through May 2014 is 23%
and projected annual inflation rose to 60.9%. More in Spanish: (Ultimas Noticias, http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/economia/inflaciones-de-abril-y-mayo-fueron-de-5-7-en-cada-.aspx#ixzz34W2bbPLj;
http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/economia/claves-vea-que-fue-lo-que-mas-aumento-en-mayo.aspx;
El Mundo, http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/economia/banca/inflacion-de-abril-y-mayo-fue-de-5-7--cada-mes.aspx;
El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/140613/la-inflacion-acumula-el-mayor-salto-desde-1996;
El Nacional; http://www.el-nacional.com/)
Barclays: "Venezuela is in the middle of an economic
collapse"
Investment banks expected president Nicolás
Maduro would implement an adjustment plan including FOREX rate unification, raising
the price of gasoline, monetary discipline, and tax reform. However, Alejandro Grisanti,
analyst at Barclay's Capital, says that the current events point in the
opposite direction. "There has been
no progress towards such measures. At the end of April, public expenditure
jumped by 20% in real terms. In the monetary area, between late March and early
April, the central bank provided VEB 75 billion (U$D 11.9 billion) to fund
state-run oil company PDVSA. No FOREX rate unification can be put in place
because nobody is expecting currency controls to end; therefore, the parallel
FOREX market will continue to exist," explains Grisanti. (El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/140611/venezuela-is-in-the-middle-of-economic-collapse;
http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/140611/high-turnover-in-economic-cabinet-termed-negative)
Bank of America: Venezuela is undergoing a deep
crisis
A recent report by Bank of America Merrill
Lynch shows President Maduro's popularity down to 30% due to a deep recession
and accelerated inflation. The report says Maduro has low political capital
which limits his capacity to carry out economic reforms. It says
accumulated economic distortions have made it impossible to stop industrial
production from dropping, and says "it
is not clear whether the economic team in charge of macroeconomic policy shares
the same view and whether it is in sync with the team that handles
microeconomic policy". More in Spanish: (El Nacional; http://www.el-nacional.com/)
Talks suspended with business representatives
as huge debt remains unpaid. Eduardo Garmendia, head of the National
Industry Council (CONINDUSTRIA) says companies have submitted all of the
information required to solve problems within the productive sector, and says “the
ball is in the government’s court.” (Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=39739&idc=4)
SICAD 2 fails to abate
the unofficial FOREX market
The government set up the First Ancillary
Foreign Currency Administration System (SICAD 1) in March 2013, in an attempt
to put an end to the unofficial FOREX market, which determines prices for many
goods and services, and propels inflation. Following a poor performance with
SICD 1, authorities implemented the so-called SICAD 2 a year later, allowing corporations
and individuals to buy foreign currency at the exchange rate of VEB 49 per US
dollar, 43% below the unofficial forex rate, yet supply fails to cope with
demand. Economic research firms such as BARCLAYS say that the government's
determination not to allow the FOREX rate for SICAD 2 to float based on supply
and demand has translated into yet another FOREX rationing system. (El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/140612/sicad-2-fails-to-vanquish-the-unofficial-forex-market)
Venezuelan
debt up to U$D 122.3 billion by the end of Q12 2014, due to a more bonds issued on the local market. Domestic
debt closed at U$D 56.8 billion in 2013, and rose to U$D 61.2 billion in March.
(Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=39728&idc=2)
Politics
Arrest warrant issued
for Venezuelan opposition leaders
Venezuela's attorney general has issued arrest
warrants against three prominent opposition leaders. They are Diego Arria, a
former presidential candidate and United Nations ambassador; Pedro Burelli,
former external director of the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela; and
Ricardo Koesling, a lawyer who has been a strong critic of the government. They
are wanted for questioning in an alleged plot to assassinate President Nicolas
Maduro. "Groups outside the law have
violent political plans," said Attorney General Luisa Ortega. She said
she would ask Interpol to issue international arrest warrants, as they may have
left the country. The attorney general's office said the three were not
officially charged with participating in the alleged assassination plan, but
they had failed to testify in an investigation of the plot. Another opposition
leader, former legislator Maria Corina Machado, has been accused of being the
primary organizer of the alleged plot. She has been called in to testify on 16
June. Via Twitter, Mrs. Machado scoffed at the accusations, calling them "infamy." Ambassador Arria called plot charges a "fantastic contrivance" and says the regime is in its "terminal phase". He adds that the
Venezuelan government has harassed him ever since he denounced the late
President Arria in The Hague court. (BBC News, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-27806616?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=%2AMorning%20Brief&utm_campaign=2014_MorningBrief%206.12.14;
Fox News, http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/06/11/venezuela-calls-for-arrestsof-3-government-opponents-for-alleged-plot-against/;
El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/140611/attorney-general-arrest-warrants-for-arria-burelli-and-koesling;
Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=39738&idc=1;
and more in Spanish: Infolatam).
Government repression increased 485% in
February and March, compared
to 2013, the highest figure in the last 25 years, according to PROVEA’s report
“Venezuela 2014: Protests and Human
Rights”. The NGO revealed 3,127 people have been detained for protesting so
far, 2,463 of whom have been arraigned in courts and 119 have been remanded. It
also showed there have been 157 documented cases of torture and cruel and
inhuman treatment. (Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=39729&idc=1)
Capriles calls for
election of new electoral board
Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles
Radonski has stressed the need for choosing the new authorities of the National
Electoral Council (CNE) before engaging in any political agenda. Reference was
made to the expiration of the tenure of the CNE directors. "Before talking about a constituent assembly,
a vote should be held to replace the officials whose terms have expired,"
said the opposition leader during a meeting with workers from the state of
Miranda, north Venezuela. Capriles noted that choosing a new electoral
board is vital to bring peace to the country. The Supreme Court has ruled that
members of the CNE's Board whose term has expired can remain in office until
the National Assembly chooses their replacements. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/140611/capriles-calls-for-election-of-new-electoral-board;
and more in Spanish: http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/140611/tsj-deja-hasta-nuevo-aviso-a-los-tres-rectores-del-cne)
Student protests revive as World Cup begins
Student protests have again erupted, with
barricades and demonstration attuned to World Cup celebrations. Protests have taken
place in Valencia, where 16 were wounded; Puerto Ordaz, where 4 students were
detained; Maracay, Mérida, Caracas and the island of Margarita. More in
Spanish: (El Nacional; http://www.el-nacional.com/)
The following brief is a synthesis of the news
as reported by a variety of media sources. As such, the views and opinions
expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Duarte Vivas & Asociados and
The Selinger Group.
