DistantNews
Support us
🇻🇪 Venezuela /Economy & Trade

Merida farmers warn agricultural smuggling is putting the economy under pressure

From El Nacional · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Farmers in Venezuela’s Merida state say agricultural smuggling, mainly involving goods from Colombia, is harming domestic production and sales of corn, fruit and vegetables.
  • Producer representatives say smuggled goods create unfair competition for farmers who follow formal production and marketing rules.
  • Farmers also report difficulty obtaining credit from public and private banks and say complaints to authorities have not resolved the problem.

Farmers in Venezuela’s Merida state say smuggled corn, fruit and vegetables are squeezing them out of the country’s markets, with much of the merchandise arriving from Colombia.

Carly Paredes, president of the National Integration of Venezuelan Agro-Producers, said the practice was damaging the sale of crops produced in Merida and creating unequal conditions for domestic farmers. “This is affecting the Constitution’s Article 5 and the country’s national economy, including corn, fruits and vegetables. It has dealt a serious blow at the national level,” Paredes said.

This is affecting the Constitution’s Article 5 and the country’s national economy, including corn, fruits and vegetables. It has dealt a serious blow at the national level.

— Carly ParedesThe agro-producer representative described the effect of smuggling on Venezuelan agriculture and the wider economy.

Merida farmer Andrés Ramírez told Unión Radio that the income of agricultural workers was falling as Colombian products and smuggled goods appeared in major national markets. He said the informal merchandise made it harder for farmers operating through formal production and distribution channels to compete.

The income of our farmers decreases more and more each day when we see smuggling and Colombian production in the main national markets.

— Andrés RamírezThe Merida farmer told Unión Radio how smuggled and Colombian goods affect agricultural incomes.

“It is unfair competition for us. Sometimes the sales figures for these products distributed in national markets do not add up,” Ramírez said. Farmers said they had filed complaints with the relevant authorities, but the problem continued.

They also identified limited access to financing as a separate pressure on the sector. Farmers said they faced difficulties obtaining loans from public and private banks, as well as support from state institutions, leaving them with less capacity to expand their activities and strengthen the agricultural economy.

It is unfair competition for us. Sometimes the sales figures for these products distributed in national markets do not add up.

— Andrés RamírezRamírez said informal imports make it difficult for formal producers to sell their crops.
About this summary

Originally published by El Nacional in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog