by James Suggett – Venezuelanalysis.com
President Chavez announced the decision to expropriate in the Miraflores presidential building Wednesday (VTV)
Mérida, March 5th 2009 (Venezuelanalysis.com) — Following a week of inspections of privately owned rice processing facilities aimed at assuring the supply of essential foods at regulated prices, the Venezuelan government initiated expropriation procedures of a plant owned by the multi-national food company Cargill that was found to be modifying all its rice so as to evade price controls on basic food items.
“Initiate the process of expropriation of Cargill, and with that a legal investigation, since what they are doing is a flagrant violation,” Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez declared on national television Wednesday.
Vice Minister of Agriculture and Land, Richard Canán, reported the results of the investigation, which was carried out by Venezuela’s Institute in Defense of People’s Access to Goods and Services (INDEPABIS) at the request of rice producers in the region around the processing plant in Portugesa state.
“[Cargil] is not even producing one single kilogram of regulated rice, but they do produce 2,400 tons of pre-cooked rice, which is not subject to regulation” said Canán. Also, INDEPABIS found approximately 18,000 tons of non-modified rice stored in the plant’s warehouse.
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