Venezuela puts debt service before food imports as cash dries up

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/16/us-venezuela-debt-idUSKBN0MC2HM20150316





Reuters) - Venezuela's government has told the country's food industry that it is limiting dollar disbursements for food imports so that it can pay down foreign debt amid low oil prices, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the situation.

The government of socialist President Nicolas Maduro administers most of the country's dollars through a currency ggcontrol system and must pay $8.4 billion in debt service on foreign bonds by the end of the year.

Restrictions on dollars for imports have already caused shortages of basic goods including meat and olive oil, and the scarcity is weighing on the government ahead of parliamentary elections.

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"No food company has received dollars this year," said Pablo Baraybar, head of food industry group Cavidea during a press conference this month, adding that private food company debts to suppliers abroad have risen to $805 million this year.

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