International
Trade
Cargo that has arrived at Puerto Cabello:
- Over
16,000 tons in 511 containers carrying chicken, beef, margarine, and milk
from Brazil for state agency CASA.
- Over 495 tons of frozen chicken
from Argentina for CASA.
12 ships remain at bay to offload cargo. More
in Spanish: (Notitarde; http://www.notitarde.com/La-Costa/Mas-de-16-mil-toneladas-de-alimentos-llegaron-para-Casa-2333681/2015/01/26/486975/; El Nacional; http://www.el-nacional.com/)
Milk imports from Brazil rose more than 1100%
in 2014
Milk imports from Brazil rose over 1100% above
2013, according to Brazil's Foreign Trade Secretariat (SECEX). Total milk sent
from Brazil to Venezuela rose from 2,474 to 29,156 tons. Payments for milk rose
from US$ 2.4 million to US$ 162.1 million, an increase of over 3700%. More in
Spanish: (El Mundo, http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/economia/politicas-publicas/importacion-de-leche-de-brasil-subio-mas-de-1-000-.aspx#ixzz3PvI2xuPF)
Logistics & Transport
No progress in talks with airlines
General Giuseppe Yofreda, Minister for Air and Water
Transport, has been meeting with representatives of international airlines
serving Venezuela to discuss repayment of FOREX pending for the sale of tickets
since 2013 at the official exchange rate. Industry spokesmen say there has been
no progress on the way to repay an outstanding US$ 3.5 billion due to the
airlines. More in Spanish: (Ultimas Noticias, http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/economia/sin-avances-reunion-del-gobierno-nacional-con-aero.aspx#ixzz3Q1Dou6Bp)
Oil &
Energy
U.S. nudges Caribbean
nations to ease their dependence on Venezuelan oil
Fears that falling oil prices could knock the
wheels off the already wobbly economy of oil-dependent Venezuela have sparked
apparent interest in alternatives to PETROCARIBE, a trade program created by
the late President Hugo Chavez that has kept the region dependent on this
country for energy. Caribbean leaders have converged in Washington for the
first Caribbean Energy Security Summit, hosted by Vice President Joe Biden, who
told the meeting: "No country should
use their natural resources as a means to coerce" the Caribbean. All
the countries of the region, except Cuba, are participating in closed talks
that involve U.S. officials and representatives of the European Union, the
U.N., and multilateral financing agencies such as the World Bank and Inter-American
Development Bank, to explore ways to help Caribbean countries convert
diesel-powered energy plants to natural gas and increase use of other
alternative energy sources. Such moves would reduce the nearly complete
dependence on oil that has made energy expensive in the region and created the
opening for Venezuela in the first place. (Fox News Latino, http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/money/2015/01/25/us-nudges-caribbean-nations-to-ease-their-dependence-on-venezuelan-oil/)
Venezuela’s export barrel averaged US$ 39.52/bbl.
this week, up for
the first time in four months, informed the Venezuelan Oil and Mining Ministry
on Friday. (Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2370966&CategoryId=10717;
Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=42515&idc=4)
Analyst says oil
prices will not rebound immediately
Oil analyst and professor Mazhar Al-Shereidah
called for calm as he talked about the perspectives in world oil markets. He estimated
that oil prices should rise again in no less than 18 months and stabilize at
US$ 50-55 per barrel. Al-Shereidah is a researcher at the Faculty of Economic
and Social Sciences of the Central University of Venezuela (UCV) since 1967. (El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/150126/analyst-oil-prices-will-not-rebound-immediately)
....but OPEC hopes oil
prices to recover soon
Abdulla al-Badri, Secretary General of the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), says oil prices at
current levels may have reached a floor and could move higher very soon,:
"I think maybe they reached the
bottom and will see some rebound very soon". He warned that any oil
supply cut would lead to spare production capacity, lack of investment and
eventual shortage and price spike. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/150126/opec-hopes-oil-prices-to-recover-soon)
Where to buy gasoline for US$0.002 a gallon,
seriously
President Nicolas Maduro has told lawmakers he’s considering raising gasoline prices. That might be
a good idea. It’s been two decades since the government last lifted state-set
local prices, the result of politicians’ concern that the move could spark
protests like those that swept across the oil-rich nation following an increase
in 1989. In the interim, a string of currency devaluations has pushed down the
cost in dollar terms to levels that would seem implausible to consumers in
other parts of the world, even after the recent oil tumble cut prices at the
pump. (Bloomberg, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-25/where-to-buy-gasoline-for-0-002-a-gallon-seriously.html
PDVSA moves to buy
shipment of Urals crude oil
State-run oil company PDVSA has moved to
purchase a shipment of 700,000 barrels of Russian Urals crude oil to be
delivered on February 15-18, 2015 in Curacao, brokers told Reuters. It is the
third bidding made by PDVSA to buy Russian Urals crude oil as part of an open
market operation. Last month, the firm awarded a division of Russian LUKOIL a
shipment of 700,000 barrels of crude oil slated to be received the week of
January 26-30. The shipment is to be delivered at Bullenbay port (Curacao) and
processed at PDVSA-operated Isla refinery. The move will partially replace the
supply of Venezuelan Mesa 30 crude oil that has been used in the plant over the
past years. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/150126/pdvsa-makes-invitation-to-buy-shipment-of-urals-crude-oil)
Cubans began departing the Puerto Cabello dock and the Planta
Centro thermo-electric plant - in which they worked for almost four years -
since December, according to union leaders and workers from those companies. At
Planta Centro, out of the 600 original Cuban workers only 150 remained under
contract and these are the ones that began departing back to Cuba. (Veneconomy,
http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=42511&idc=3)
Commodities
Gold production drops 95%
Gold production by
state agency MINERVEN shrank for the fifth consecutive year. Gold extracted in
2014 was 867 kilos, a drop of 95% from 2013. More in Spanish: (El Mundo, http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/economia/politicas-publicas/cae-produccion-de-oro-en-el-pais-y-se-fugan-10-ton.aspx#ixzz3Q19SMSXC)
Government plans to
increase investment for national food production
General Carlos Osorio, Vice President of Food
Security and Sovereignty, reports that the
government will increase investments for producing staples and
strengthen supply nationwide, noting that the government began the year by
making an inventory "of all
products, and we have the products the people need for two and a half months."
He says that through these inventories they could determine input and raw
materials areas. (AVN, http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/govt-increase-investment-national-food-production;
El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/150126/venezuelan-govt-acknowledges-supply-issues)
Zuli Milk ransacked
Francisco Della Morte, an advisor to Zuli Milk,
has charged that officials from the Food Ministry and the Agribusiness National
Superintendent's office ransacked two company plants near Caracas, carrying
away all their raw material, freezers and over 8 tons of packaging material, as
well as workers uniforms and the keys to 13 trucks. He said that after they
legally imported 800 tons of milk, the government seized the cargo that
remained at port in 32 containers. Company operations halted on January 8th and
they have not been allowed to produce milk, even under government supervision.
More in Spanish: (El Nacional; http://www.el-nacional.com/)
Economy
& Finance
The government offers
no solutions to a mounting economic crisis
Shortages are undermining support for the
autocratic regime’s “21st-century
socialist” experiment, especially among the poor, its intended
beneficiaries. The government insists it is the victim of “economic warfare” waged by the opposition. With opinion polls
indicating that more than 80% of Venezuelans blame the president for the
situation, the opposition Democratic Unity (MUD) alliance senses an
opportunity. Signs of greater unity suggest that the opposition may begin to pose
a more serious challenge, starting with legislative elections this year. Maduro
insists that the solution is more revolution. For the umpteenth time he
promised to announce economic measures to alleviate the crisis. His annual
speech before the National Assembly on January 21st was characteristically long
on rhetoric and short on specifics. (The Economist, http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21640395-government-offers-no-solutions-mounting-economic-crisis-empty-shelves-and-rhetoric?fsrc=email_to_a_friend)
BOFA economist says nation has US$ 70 billion
in assets, needs to finance US$ 40 billion
Francisco Rodríguez, Chief Economist for the
Andean Region for Bank of America, says Venezuela has enough assets to create
"a strategy for stabilization and
adjustment". Rodríguez says "we
have international reserves, additional deposits of about US$ 20 billion, that allow
a margin for maneuvering". He estimates Venezuela has international
assets and reserves of about US$ 70 billion, including outstanding oil
payables. He adds that "financial
needs can be around US$ 40 billion", so an economic recovery strategy
must create signals and results needed so the country can face the crisis
created by the drop in oil prices. More in Spanish: (El Mundo, http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/economia/politicas-publicas/rodriguez---el-pais-cuenta-con--70-000-millones-en.aspx#ixzz3Q1B2qIdD)
...yet ECLAC reports poverty
in Venezuela up 6.7 % in 2012-2013
Reduction of poverty remained flat in Latin
America as a result of a slower regional growth, according to a report by the
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). In Venezuela,
poverty rate gained 6.7 percentage points in 2012-2013 (from 25.4% to 32.1%)
and the homeless rate heightened 2.7 percentage points (from 7.1% to 9.8%) in
the same term, according to the report entitled Latin American Social Outlook
2014. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/150126/eclac-poverty-in-venezuela-up-67-in-2012-2013; and more in Spanish: El
Mundo, http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/economia/internacional/cepal--pobreza-en-venezuela-aumento-6-7--en-un-ano.aspx#ixzz3Q194CUG4;
El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/150127/cepal-registra-freno-en-reduccion-de-la-pobreza;
Ultimas Noticias, http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/economia/pobreza-en-venezuela-crecio-6-7-en-un-ano-dice-cep.aspx)
Venezuela's currency
woes an increasing threat to U.S. corporate profits
Venezuela's deepening economic troubles, the
weakness of the bolivar and restrictive currency controls, have hurt U.S.
corporate profits for the fourth quarter of 2014 and are set to inflict further
pain this year. Ford Motor Co announced it is taking a pre-tax charge of US$
800 million for its Venezuela business due to exchange control regulations that
have restricted the ability of its operations in the country to pay dividends
and obligations in U.S. dollars. Ford also said that it was unable to maintain
normal production in Venezuela with the availability of vehicle parts
constrained. Kimberly-Clark Corp said it took a fourth-quarter charge of US$
462 million for its Venezuelan business after it concluded that the appropriate
rate at which it should be measuring its bolívar denominated monetary assets
should be a Venezuelan government floating exchange rate - currently at around
50 bolivars to the dollar - rather than a fixed official rate of 6.3 to the
dollar that it had previously been using. Kimberly-Clark blamed increased
uncertainty and lack of liquidity in Venezuela for the move. (Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/24/us-venezuela-currency-results-analysis-idUSKBN0KX0FC20150124;
Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2370961&CategoryId=10717)
Maduro claims FOREX is
guaranteed in Venezuela
President, Nicolas Maduro claims the nation has
the dollars needed for production of different goods, as well as all social
programs and responsibilities of the Executive branch, and added he will
continue making efforts to protect oil prices and OPEC. (AVN, http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/maduro-currencies-are-guaranteed-country)
Infrastructure plans
exceed USD 5 billion
Elías Jaua, Vice-President for Territorial
Socialism, says the so-called Infrastructure Plan announced by President
Nicolás Maduro last week, involves US$ 5 billion and VEB 264 billion (US$ 41.5
billion) in investments. He remarked that the plan seeks to create 734,000
direct jobs and 1.1 million indirect jobs. Moreover, Jaua said that more than
VEB 204.8 billion (US$ 32.5 billion) and over US$ 3 billion would be spent on
housing during 2015 creating 650,000 direct jobs. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/150126/venezuelan-infrastructure-plan-to-exceed-usd-5-billion)
Politics and
International Affairs
Diosdado Cabello fingered
as head of the "Cartel of the Suns"
Navy Captain Leamsy Salazar, who headed
security for the late President Hugo Chávez, has arrived in Washington to work
with US authorities on links between "chavismo"
and drug traffic. He is a protected witness that can supply the most
devastating details known so far. According to sources close to the
investigation, Salazar charges that the drug organization known as the "Cartel of the Suns" is led by
Venezuela's National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello. They say: "This is the hardest blow ever given to
"chavismo". Salazar became chief aide and head of security for
Cabello after the death of Chavez. He arrived in the US in the company of
agents from the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) as a protected witness for New
York's District Attorney for the Southern District. He has also linked Cuba to
drug shipments on behalf of the Cartel. Salazar was a direct witness in acts
compromising Cabello and drug traffic, but never took a direct role in
operations. Salazar is reported to have also implicated Tareck El Aissami,
Aragua State Governor, who is linked to Islamic networks; as well as Cabello´s
brother, José David, who holds the offices of Minister of Industries and Tax
Superintendent. Salazar has also apparently pointed to the state oil company,
PDVSA is the key unit for money laundering. More in Spanish: (El Nuevo Herald, http://www.elnuevoherald.com/noticias/mundo/america-latina/venezuela-es/article8206548.html#storylink=cpy;
ABC Spain, http://www.abc.es/internacional/20150127/abci-venezuela-cabello-eeuu-201501262129.html)
NYT: Maduro in his
labyrinth
President Nicolás Maduro has become
increasingly erratic and despotic in a quest for political survival that seems
more daunting by the day. The International Monetary Fund has predicted that
Venezuela’s economy would contract 7% in 2015. Far from acknowledging
responsibility for the crisis, he and his loyalists have blamed the revenue
shortfalls on political opponents they accuse of enabling an international conspiracy.
The crackdown on the opposition, unobstructed by a weak and compromised press,
appears to be an effort to divert attention from Venezuelans’ deteriorating
quality of life. (The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/26/opinion/mr-maduro-in-his-labyrinth.html?_r=1)
Arreaza denies Piñera
and Pastrana access to prisoners, leaders amazed at food lines
Vice President Jorge Arreaza barred two former Latin American presidents, Chile’s Sebastian Pinera and Colombia’s Andres Pastrana, from visiting jailed opposition
leader Leopoldo Lopez. The two leaders called for the release of Lopez, who
was arrested nearly a year ago. President Nicolas Maduro accused them of taking
part in a coup plot against him and being financed by drug money. Pastrana
criticized the decision, saying: "This
confirms he (López) is a political prisoner." Arreaza accused the
former Presidents of "seeking a
media show", saying he told the Chilean and Colombian ambassadors that
permits had not been requested. Chile's Piñera said: "I hope this situation changes in Venezuela". Former Mexican
President Felipe Calderón joined them for a seminar on "Citizen power and democracy today",
organized by Venezuela's opposition. The former Presidents also expressed they
were amazed to see "a country as
rich as Venezuela undergoing this difficult situation" as they
witnessed the long lines to buy food. Jesús Torrealba, Executive Secretary of the
opposition Democratic Unity Conference, is in Brussels to denounce restrictions
on access to political prisoners at the European Parliament. (El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150126/dissenter-the-world-is-in-solidarity-with-leopoldo-lopez;
Bloomberg, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-26/venezuela-protests-fizzle-as-opposition-cuts-caracas-rally-short.html;
BBC News, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-30977027?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=%2AMorning%20Brief&utm_campaign=2014_MorningBrief-%20Maxwell%20PROMO;
and more in Spanish: El Nacional; http://www.el-nacional.com/; Infolatam, http://www.infolatam.com/2015/01/26/arreaza-alerto-expresidentes-que-visita-lopez-sin-permiso-seria-un-show/;
http://www.infolatam.com/2015/01/26/pastrana-y-pinera-afirman-estar-impresionados-al-ver-la-escasez-en-venezuela/)
Capriles calls for
opposition unity, says 80% of Venezuelans “Want
change”
Two-time presidential candidate for Venezuela’s
opposition alliance MUD, Henrique Capriles, has called for a “common agenda” against President Nicolas
Maduro, and said that 80% of the 30 million Venezuelans “want change.... and we have to unite to present that common agenda for
change”. He admitted that at the heart of the alliance there are “differences” about how to combat Maduro,
but insisted that it is essential to minimize them and define a common agenda.
(Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2370980&CategoryId=10717)
Spain's PODEMOS
questioned about €1 million transfer from Venezuela
Juan Carlos Monedero, a spokesman for PODEMOS,
a new Spanish leftist political party, was asked to explain two alleged
transfers totaling € 1 million from Venezuela. He received "another million" euros from
Venezuela, through the Foundation of the Center of Political and Social Studies.
Leaders of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) have demanded an explanation. (El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150126/spains-podemos-questioned-about-1-million-transfer-from-venezuela)
