Hugo Chavez Orders Nationalization of Agricultural Giant

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has ordered the nationalization of at least some of the operations of the U.S.-based food giant Cargill.

Food and household supplies are growing short and the president of Venezuela Hugo Chavez has chose this time to has order the takeover of a Venezuelan unit of US agriculture giant Cargill. This is the latest in a series of takeovers of foreign-owned companies. Chávez has, also, threatened to seize control of privately- owned Polar, the country’s largest food conglomerate and brewer. Three weeks ago Chávez won a referendum that will allow him to run an unlimited number of times for the presidency. “If you want to take on the government, you’ll find out that this revolution is for real,” Chávez said. His comments were directed to the family that owns a controlling interest in Polar. Chávez has imposed price controls on many basic food items as part of his transformation of Venezuela’s economy, however, consumers and producers have largely learned to bypass those controls via a huge black market. The expropriation was triggered by an inspection of a Cargill-owned Cristal rice plant in the state of Portuguesa, during which officials determined that the company was not producing rice at the regulated price. Mark Klein is a Cargill spokesman for Cargill; he said the Minnesota-based company "is committed to the production of food in Venezuela that complies with all laws and regulations." Klein added a rice mill cited by Chavez "was designed exclusively to manufacture parboiled rice, which the company has done at this site for the last seven years and elsewhere in the country for 13 years." "Cargill expects the opportunity to clarify the situation with the government and is respectful of the Venezuelan government decision."