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Caracas officials take control of food distribution

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's government announced a decree giving officials the power to take control of food distributors caught hoarding or halting supply, a move aimed at easing severe shortages of meats, milk and sugar in Venezuela's supermarkets.

The decree -- part of the government's sweeping reforms toward socialism under Chavez -- will likely stoke continuing fears over threats to private property, particularly among supermarket owners and food storage companies.

Industry and Commerce Minister Maria Cristina Iglesias told a news conference that the legislation will take effect upon its publication in the official gazette this week.

Industry officials blame the shortages on price controls that oblige retailers to sell at a loss, while the government points the finger at unscrupulous speculators, including supermarket owners and distributors, who hoard food or boost prices.

Iglesias said the law would give the government, along with municipal authorities and "communal councils," or neighborhood assemblies, authority over food distribution and sales if private companies such as supermarket chains halt their operations.

The forthcoming decree "puts ... food commercialization in the hands of the people and the revolutionary government," she said.

Iglesias did not provide specific details of the decree, saying only that the new legislation would "permit, in extreme cases, the re-establishment of an essential public service."

The Venezuelan National Assembly, which is entirely controlled by a coalition of pro-Chavez parties, approved a law last month that granted the Venezuelan leader authority to enact sweeping measures by presidential decree as his government steers this poverty-stricken South American country toward socialism.

Privately owned supermarkets suspended sales of beef earlier last week after one chain was shut down for 48 hours for pricing meat above government-set levels. Most items can still be found, but only by paying higher prices at grocery stores or on the black market.

Authorities have raided warehouses and confiscated tonnes of food -- mostly beef and sugar -- they said was hoarded by vendors unwilling to sell inventories at the official price.

Iglesias urged Venezuelans to provide authorities with information regarding distribution chains or storage facilities where goods are being hoarded so the food could be confiscated and sold directly to consumers.

Full-page government ads published in newspapers on Sunday showed a fake mug shot under the title "The Hoarder Is a Criminal" and warned consumers not to purchase foods at exorbitant prices.
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