Venezuela: Interesting numbers on meat production, imports and consumption since 1998

[ChangoLoa]

1998
Production: 407,601 tons
Imports: 3,670 tons
Consumption per capita: 17.6 kg/person/year

2004
Production: 346,488 tons
Imports: 68,500 tons
Consumption per capita: 15.9 kg/person/year

2009
Production: 269,952
Imports: 295,484
Consumption per capita: 19.7 kg/person/year

1998-2009
Production dropped by 34% in absolute terms, by 45% in per capita terms

Imports increased by 7,951%, by 6,601% in per capita terms

Consumption per capita increased by 12%

...According to el universal, to be verified.

http://www.eluniversal.com/2010/05/07/eco_apo_el-historico_1890762.shtml

In Spanish:
Venezuela pasó de ser un país que producía carne para atender la demanda de la población, para convertirse en un gran importador del rubro.

En 1998 se producían 407.601 toneladas, se importaban 3.670 y el consumo era de 17,6 kilos per cápita.

En 2004, una año después del paro petrolero, la producción de carne nacional era de 346.488 toneladas, se importaron 68.500 toneladas de carne y el consumo per cápita era de 15,9 kilos.

En 2009 se produjeron 269.952 toneladas, importaron 295.484 toneladas y se consumieron 19,7 kilos per cápita.

[naaman fletcher]

1. Not good.

Hopefully Chavez's days are numbered.

[protocol rv]

2. it's all relative

Statistics for a single crop are somewhat unimportant. For example, let's say we stop producing rice, but increase the amount of shrimp being grown in ponds. Since shrimp has (I guess) more value added, we could sell shrimp to the gringos, and then import rice, but stay ahead.

The problem I see is more general, the productive capacity of private industry (where more value added is generated) is shrinking. State owned industry is very inefficient - these guys wouldn't know how to put together a lego house, never mind something complicated. So what's killing the economy is the slow strangulation of the sectors where more value added is generated. They play around with their mickey mouse communues and "social industrial sector", but that's mostly show, and nothing really gets produced. Having an Iranian tractor assembly plant doesn't replace the huge amount of industry that has already been destroyed, or is on its way to be destroyed.

And to make matters even worse, they're slowly destroying the oil industry, as well as the infrastructure in general. Oil production is down, they keep signing deals with companies from nations known to have obsolete technology, or none whatsoever, with poor management practices (Belarus is an excellent example). The few companies with know how which have half baked deals (say Chevron and Repsol) don't close their deals and start investing - I think they're waiting for the elections to see if Chavez' party loses before they spend real money.

And this government is run by people who are completely unable to plan properly. Their plans are a joke, if you go to their websites and read what they said they would do, compare it to what they do, you'll see they fail to accomplish most of what they say they would accomplish. And yet there is no accountability - they re-thread the same old guys over and over, in different positions. Some of them are in powerful posts because they used to hang out with the right crook and kidnapper back when all these guys did was hustle in the streets as common criminals.

So the overall impact is a blow to the economy. And this is seen in the indicators: we have hyperinflation, a collapsing currency, and are the proud owners, together with Ecuador, of the worst performing GDP figures in the Western Hemisphere (except for Haiti, which is its own special basket case).