Venezuelan economy
The Venezuelan economy is oriented towards the export of raw materials. The main economic activity in Venezuela is the exploitation and refining of oil for export, extraction and refining is in charge of the state company Petróleos de Venezuela.
The initial production dates back to 1875, with the participation of Compañía Petrolia del Táchira in the "La Alquitrana" hacienda in the Venezuelan Andes; then the first refinery was built from which products such as kerosene and diesel were obtained. The blowout of the Zumaque I well on Cerro La Estrella de Mene Grande in 1914 (still in production as of June 2020) marks the beginning of large-scale commercial oil exploitation, triggering a large number of events that drastically changed the course of the country. In 1960 and through the initiative of Venezuela within the world oil market, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was founded.
Starting in 1945 and for more than 30 years, the Venezuelan economy experienced strong growth and constant economic development, this resulted in many people from different parts of the world emigrating to Venezuela during the 50s, 60s and 70. Already in the 1980s and also part of the 1990s, the Venezuelan economy contracted due to the fall in oil prices, inflation shot up to reach annual peaks of 84% in 1989 and 99% in 1996 But despite these high inflation rates, the Venezuelan economy remained stable and ranked as the fourth largest economy in Latin America.
Since the end of the crisis of the early 1990s, the Venezuelan economy experienced more than a decade of expansive macroeconomic growth, above the average for the rest of Latin America.
According to the BCV, Venezuela received from 1998 to 2008 around 325 billion dollars through oil production and exports in general, and according to OPEC for November 2018 oil extraction fell to 1,170,000 barrels per day.
Despite strained relations with the United States, the United States is a seller of goods and services to Venezuela. US exports to Venezuela include machinery, agricultural products, medical instruments and vehicles. Venezuela was one of the main suppliers of foreign oil to the United States, ranking fourth in 2017 with just 41% of the barrels extracted. Nearly 500 United States companies in different economic areas are represented in Venezuela.
Since Hugo Chávez Frías imposed strict exchange controls in 2003, in an attempt to implement his economic system of nationalization and expropriations and prevent capital flight, the country's economic situation worsened, corruption increased during his government and a series of currency devaluations took place. in recession in the third quarter of 2009 with a contraction of 3.3% after experiencing growth for 22 consecutive quarters, likewise, in the first half of 2010, Venezuela's GDP contracted by 3.5%, totaling five consecutive quarters without growth. Corruption produced a banking crisis in 2009, some 28 banks were intervened, some merged others liquidated. In December 2014, according to reports from the Central Bank of Venezuela, the country had reported a 4.9% drop in the second quarter, after registering a 4.8% contraction in the first three months of the year, for the third quarter. the country registered a contraction of 2.3%, this economic behavior of Venezuela so far in 2014, according to international parameters, two continuous quarters with economic contractions point towards a recession. According to several analysts, they estimate that Venezuela entered a cycle of "stagflation", which implies economic contraction and high inflation. For 2015, Venezuela has the highest inflation rate in the world, exceeding 100 % year-on-year, becoming the highest rate in the country's history. In November 2017, Venezuela entered hyperinflation for the first time with inflation of 50.6% only in the month of October. 2018 is a lousy year for the economy with delay in the payment of its Bonds, loss of the volume of its oil exports, loss of the national production of aluminum, cement and iron. At the end of 2018, accumulated inflation reaches 1,698,488.2% (more than one million%), the forecasts for this year are not encouraging, according to the IMF, the projected real GDP for 2019 will fall a negative percentage -25% and with a rate of inflation, average consumer prices of 10 million percent. In a report by the National Assembly of January 2020, accumulated inflation during the year 2019 amounts to 7,374.4%. Accumulated hyperinflation in 2020 reached 3,713.00% one of the highest.
History
1888-1983
Before becoming an oil country, Venezuela was a purely agricultural country throughout the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The axis of the Venezuelan economy was based mainly on the production of coffee (of which it became the second largest producer worldwide, after Brazil). The main products that Venezuela exported at that time were coffee, cocoa, cattle, sugar, papelón, tobacco, balatá, gold, leather, heron feathers, and rubber.
But despite all this, Venezuela's GDP per capita was notably lower compared to other South American countries (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay), and even lower than demographically and geographically comparable countries such as Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia.
Although one of the first Venezuelan oil wells had been discovered in 1875, said oil production would continue to be small, having a minimal participation in the country's economy, at least until the year 1920.
It is worth mentioning that 1920 constitutes a turning point in the Venezuelan economy, from then on, agricultural exports will decrease exponentially to the detriment of oil exports.
By 1929, Venezuela was the second largest oil-producing country (behind only the United States) and the world's largest oil exporter.[citation needed] With a spectacular development of the industry, the oil sector had begun to dominate all other economic sectors in the country.
With the oil expansion came the abandonment of the countryside, due to the fact that agricultural production was primarily in the hands of very few landowners who offered minuscule wages for the terrible living conditions that the countryside offered. Therefore they could not compete with the wages offered by the oil companies in their concessions. The abandonment of the field flooded the labor market with an overwhelming growth of the job offer.
As of 1925, thanks to large-scale oil exploitation, Venezuela had exceeded the GDP per capita of Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, and Bolivia. Starting in 1926, it experienced a vertiginous growth that would make Venezuela the Latin American country with the highest per capita income, which motivated the arrival of numerous European and Latin American immigrants. Between 1950 and 1995 Venezuela continued to be the Latin American country with the highest per capita income, although starting in 1996 it began to decline. Inflation in the 1990s was between 32% (1992) and 100% (1996).
1983-2001
The Venezuelan economy took advantage of high oil prices during the 1970s oil crisis and the surplus it provided; This was the trigger for the Government to borrow abroad. When the external debt became unpayable in 1983, the currency had to be devalued in the episode known as Black Friday. From then on, the economic policies of the governments of Luis Herrera Campíns and Jaime Lusinchi were not able to stop the inflationary spiral, generating distrust in investments and loss of credibility in the national currency. Some of the policies used by these rulers to curb the structural effects were exchange controls through RECADI (Luis Herrera Campins) and price controls (Jaime Lusinchi), measures that led to administrative corruption and black markets for foreign currency and goods. However, the structural bankruptcy of the internal market, the lack of economic and food sovereignty, generated a gradual shortage. In 1988 Carlos Andrés Pérez was elected president, supported by a populist speech that appealed to social justice. With great electoral support, the Pérez government, instead of seeking a change towards social inclusion, turned to freeing the economy, imposing its deregulation through a program of macroeconomic adjustments promoted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), by which was called the "Economic Package", conceived to generate substantial changes in the country's economy. Measures for immediate application and others for gradual application in short periods of time were announced. The package included decisions on exchange rate policy, foreign debt, foreign trade, the financial system, fiscal policy, public services, and social policy. However, the liberalization of prices and the elimination of exchange controls generated an extremely abrupt readjustment for people with lower incomes, who were the vast majority, which led to more hunger and unemployment. Popular discontent was manifested in the tragic events of the Caracazo (1989), which was not an obstacle to the relatively successful application of some of the proposed measures. However, two failed coup attempts (1992) led by Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Chávez aggravated the economic crisis into a maelstrom of successive devaluations and inflationary volatility, which led to the loss of thousands of jobs and the country fell into a severe poverty, from which some economists and politicians believe the country has not fully recovered.
2001-present
In 2001 the growth of the Gross Domestic Product or GDP was 3.4%. A significant increase in international oil prices allowed the economy to recover from a severe recession suffered in 1999. However, a relatively weak non-oil sector, high capital flight and a temporary drop in oil prices prevented the recovery was greater.
In early 2003 an exchange control was established, from a scheme with a free exchange rate floating in bands to a fixed price scheme controlled by the government, causing the bolivar to devalue considerably. In 2003, as a consequence of serious political instability, various social conflicts and the stoppage of activities of the main state oil company PDVSA, the Venezuelan economy had a drop in its GDP of 7.7%.
-On February 6, 2003, the Venezuelan government introduced an exchange regulatory system for the purchase/sale of foreign currency. The government institution in charge at that time, CADIVI, initially established the exchange rate of 1600 bolivars per dollar for sale (This currency for 2007 would lose 3 zeros and for August 2018 it would lose five zeros). On March 3, 2005, the currency was devalued against the dollar, passing the official exchange rate of 1920 to 2,150 bolivars per dollar.
-During the year 2004 Venezuela experienced a growth of 17.9% in its GDP, coupled with the holding of the presidential recall referendum with the victory of President Chávez with 60% of the votes, the political environment improved and affected positively to the economy.[citation needed] The social investment of the government through the so-called missions in the fields of education, food and health, managed to increase the quality of life of the citizens momentarily with the lowest resources (37% of the population).
In 2005 Venezuela presented a positive balance in its external accounts (31,000 million dollars) since exports reached 56,000 million dollars, representing the third place in importance in Latin America behind Mexico and Brazil. Meanwhile, imports totaled 25 billion dollars.
Venezuela ended 2005 with an economic growth of 9.4% of the Gross Domestic Product, ranking first among the countries of the continent for the second consecutive year. In addition, in 2005 Venezuela registered the lowest inflation in the last seven years, falling to 8.9% according to figures from the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) and ECLAC.
According to the annual report of the BCV, during 2006, the Venezuelan GDP had an increase of 10.3%. That year the non-oil sector of the economy had an annual increase of 11.4% and international reserves reached the figure of 37,299 million dollars.
On March 7, 2007, the Government announced a currency reconversion process, and the currency took the transitory name of Bolívar Fuerte (BsF). Its issuance was controlled by the BCV, an entity that established an exchange rate of 2.15 bolívares fuertes per dollar, which means dividing the bolívar that had been circulating since 1879 by a thousand (moving three zeros to the left). The new Venezuelan monetary scale was approved by presidential decree with the publication in the Official Gazette No. 38,638 at the initiative of President Hugo Chávez with the intention of aesthetically reducing inflation and facilitating the national payment system, adapting to international standards regarding figures and the number of bills that each person should carry.
In 2007, in its Social Panorama of Latin America report of that same year, ECLAC recognized that Venezuela, between 2002 and 2006, decreased its poverty rates by 18.4% and indigence by 12.3% in that period, from from poverty of 48.2% and indigence of 22.2% in 2002, to 37.9% and 15.9% respectively in 2005 and to 30.2% and 9.9% respectively in 2006.
At the end of 2007 and according to the figures reported by the BCV, the Venezuelan economy grew 8.4% driven by the expansion of investment and consumption, reaching 17 quarters of consecutive growth of GDP since the end of 2003, registering since that same period an average interannual growth of 11.8%, consumption registered the highest variation rate since 1997, growing 18.7%, The sectors or economic activities that registered the highest growth were communications (21.7%), financial activity and insurance (20.6%) and construction (10.2%).
At the end of August, Minister Rodríguez reviewed his figures, now estimating annual inflation of 26% and GDP growth close to 1%. However, Venezuelan GDP finally experienced a fall of 3.3%;
The national budget for 2009 was calculated by estimating the income of 60 dollars per barrel of oil,[citation needed] but at the end of March it was reformulated to 40 dollars, to adjust for the fall in global oil prices of 2009 and 2010, which in turn triggered an internal energy crisis.
At the beginning of 2010, Finance Minister Jorge Giordani estimated growth of 0.5%, but various specialists estimated a fall of between 1.7% and 3%. In mid-April, the IMF estimated that Venezuela would continue in recession in 2010, with a fall of 2.6%.
Finally, GDP fell 1.4%; within the regional context, Venezuela lags behind the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean, which experienced an average growth of 6%. After the energy crisis, Venezuela would be the only oil nation and one of the two American nations still in recession in 2010. The other nation is Haiti, which earlier this year experienced a devastating earthquake.
For ECLAC experts, the energy crisis and the drop in Venezuelan oil exports were among the reasons for Venezuela to enter a recession, which would last 18 months from the second quarter of 2009 to the third quarter of 2010. The Venezuelan government blamed the slow world economic recovery for prolonging the crisis, as well as the reduction of oil production quotas dictated by OPEC. According to the Venezuelan opposition, the policies of President Chávez to try to apply the socialism of the 21st century were behind the crisis and would be leading "the economy to ruin".
In September 2010, the bolivar was devalued again, going from 2.15 bolivars per dollar, to a dual exchange system of 2.60 and 4.30 bolivars per dollar, depending on the type of transactions to be carried out with said currencies. At that time, the dollar on the black market was already trading at over 9 bolivars.
Venezuela in 2011 experienced a growth of 4.2% of its GDP. Non-oil GDP rose 4.3% and oil 0.6%. For the second consecutive year, the Venezuelan economy continued to have the highest inflation on the continent, since the prices of goods and services rose 27.6%, slightly more than in 2010 when it was 27.2%. Venezuelan exports abroad, mainly oil, rose 42.8% in 2011. In total, Venezuela exported merchandise for a total of 93,896 million USD. Thus achieving a surplus trade balance. Imports increased 18%, closing the year 2011 with an amount of 45,615 million USD. The country's international reserves closed the year at 29,899 million USD, the figure is 433 million USD less than at the end of 2010. The report by the president of the BCV indicates that 35,394 million USD were liquidated through Cadivi throughout the year. Meanwhile, through Sitme a total of 8,777 million USD was negotiated during 2011.
In 2012, the Venezuelan economy closed with growth of 5.5%, inflation of 20.1% and unemployment of 6.4%, slightly lower than in 2011. The sectors that grew the most were finance and entities banking (32.9%) and construction 16.8%.
For 2013, the national government announced a 20% increase in controlled prices for beef, chicken, milk, and cheese. The Gini coefficient would have reached 0.435 points (1 is absolute inequality and zero is equality). absolute).
| Year | Growth
GDP (MIF) | % of GDP in 2012 | GDP per capita PPP (MIF) | Inflation
(MIF) | Acute inflation (as at 31/12 per year) | Type of free exchange
USD/Bolívar (01/07 each year) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 5.6 per cent | 100% | $18.555 USD | 20.1 per cent | 20.1 per cent | 9,37 | |
| 2013 | 1.3% | 101.3% | $18.860 USD | 56.2% | 87.60% | 31,50 | The government of Nicolás Maduro begins. Venezuela's highest GDP. |
| 2014 | -3.9% | 97.34% | $18.210 USD | 68.5 per cent | 216,10% | 68.18 | |
| 2015 | - 6.2% | 91.31% | $17.010 USD | 180.9% | 787.92% | 489,66 | |
| 2016 | - 17% | 75.79 per cent | $14.210 USD | 274.4% | 3.224.39 per cent | 1.040,00 | |
| 2017 | - 15.7% | 63.89% | $12.320 USD | 862.6% | 31.900.55% | 7.780.95 | |
| 2018 | - 19.7% | 51.30% | $10,680 USD | 130.060% | 41.651.809.75% | 3.405.751.03 | |
| 2019 | -27.7% | 37.09% | $8.170 USD | 9.590% | 4.036.069.954.63% | 7.846,31 | |
| 2020 | -30% | 25.96% | $5.760 USD | 2.960% | 123.503.743.571.68% | 205.230.73 | Covid-19 pandemic |
| 2021 | 0.5% | 26.09% | $6.110 USD | 686.4% | 971.233.440.134.08% | 3.250.012.94 |
Venezuelan economy worldwide
Based on its size, the Venezuelan economy is currently the fifteenth largest economy in Latin America with a GDP of 78 billion dollars. If the GDP is divided by the amount of population that Venezuela has (more than 20 million inhabitants), the result is a GDP per capita of 2,457 dollars of annual average wealth for each Venezuelan, converting from this way in the poorest country on the continent after Nicaragua (1,859 dollars) and Haiti (466 dollars).
| Latin American countries according to the size of their economy GDP (gross domestic product) by 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N.o | Country | nominal GDP (millions of dollars) | Inhabitants | nominal per capita GDP | Main article |
| 1 | Brazil Brazil | USD 1 893 010 million | 211 million | USD 8 955 | Economy of Brazil |
| 2° | Mexico Mexico | USD 1 322 489 million | 127 million | USD 10 405 | Economy of Mexico |
| 3° |  Argentina | USD 443 249 million | 45 million | USD 9 890 | Economy of Argentina |
| 4° | Colombia Colombia | USD 343 177 million | 50 million | USD 6 744 | Economy of Colombia |
| 5° | Chile Chile | USD 308 505 million | 19 million | USD 15 794 | Economy of Chile |
| 6° | Peru Peru | USD 240 175 million | 32 million | USD 7 316 | Economy of Peru |
| 7° | Ecuador Ecuador | USD 109 444 million | 17 million | USD 6 250 | Economy of Ecuador |
| 8° | Dominican Republic Dominican Republic | USD 96 291 million | 10 million | USD 9 194 | Economy of the Dominican Republic |
| 9° | Guatemala Guatemala | USD 86 397 million | 17 million | USD 4 807 | Economics of Guatemala |
| 10° | Panama Panama | USD 73 369 million | 4 million | USD 17 148 | Economy of Panama |
| 11° | Costa Rica Costa Rica | USD 65 179 million | 5 million | USD 12 690 | Economy of Costa Rica |
| 12° | Uruguay Uruguay | USD 62 921 million | 3 million | USD 17 818 | Economy of Uruguay |
| 13° | Venezuela Venezuela | USD 62 917 million | 27 million | USD 2 457 | Economy of Venezuela |
| 14th | Bolivia Bolivia | USD 45 253 million | 11 million | USD 4 090 | Economy of Bolivia |
| 15° | Paraguay Paraguay | USD 42 826 million | 7 million | USD 5 904 | Economy of Paraguay |
| 16° | El Salvador El Salvador | USD 27 918 million | 6 million | USD 4 126 | Economy of El Salvador |
| 17° | Honduras Honduras | USD 25 314 million | 9 million | USD 2 593 | Economy of Honduras |
| 18° | Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago | USD 23 251 million | 1 million | USD 16 757 | Economy of Trinidad and Tobago |
| 19° |  Jamaica | USD 16 474 million | 2 million | USD 5 698 | Economics of Jamaica |
| 20° | Bahamas Bahamas | USD 12 815 million | 380 thousand | USD 33 286 | Bahamas Economy |
| 21° | Nicaragua Nicaragua | USD 12 331 million | 6 million | USD 1 869 | Economy of Nicaragua |
| 22nd | Haiti Haiti | USD 8 709 million | 11 million | USD 765 | Economy of Haiti |
| 23° | Guyana Guyana | USD 8 065 million | 780 thousand | USD 10 249 | Guyana Economics |
| 24° | Barbados Barbados | USD 5 322 million | 280. | USD 18 486 | Economy of Barbados |
| 25° | Suriname Suriname | USD 4 162 million | 600 thousand | USD 6 875 | Economy of Suriname |
| 26° | Saint Lucia Saint Lucia | USD 2 103 million | 180. | USD 11 619 | Economy of Saint Lucia |
| 27° | Belize Belize | USD 2 076 million | 410 thousand | USD 4 978 | Economy of Belize |
| 28° | Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda | USD 1 779 million | 90 thousand | USD 18 887 | Economy of Antigua and Barbuda |
| 29° | Grenada Grenada | USD 1 295 million | 100 thousand | USD 11 848 | Economy of Grenada |
| 30° | San Cristóbal y Nieves San Cristóbal y Nieves | USD 1 087 million | 50 thousand | USD 19,023 | Economy of San Cristobal and Nieves |
| 31° | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | USD 893 million | 110. | USD 8 080 | Economy of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
| 32° | Dominica Dominica | USD 633 million | 70 thousand | USD 8 948 | Economy of Dominica |
| Source: International Monetary Fund (2020) | |||||
Historical positions of the Venezuelan economy
Period 1960-1980
Throughout the 1960s, the Venezuelan economy has positioned itself as the fourth largest and most important economy in Latin America. In the 1970s, the economy of Venezuela was still listed as one of the main economies of the Latin American continent, ranking fourth.
| Latin American countries according to the size of their economy GDP (gross domestic product) in 1960 | Latin American countries according to the size of their economy GDP (gross domestic product) in 1970 | Latin American countries according to the size of their economy GDP (gross domestic product) in 1980 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N.o | Country | nominal GDP (millions of dollars) | N.o | Country | nominal GDP (millions of dollars) | N.o | Country | nominal GDP (millions of dollars) |
| 1 | Argentina | USD 24 451 million | 1 | BrazilBrazil | USD 42 328 million | 1 | BrazilBrazil | USD 235 025 million |
| 2° | BrazilBrazil | USD 15 166 million | 2° | Mexico Mexico | USD 35 520 million | 2° | Mexico Mexico | USD 205 139 million |
| 3° | Mexico Mexico | USD 13 040 million | 3° | Argentina | USD 31 584 million | 3° | Argentina | USD 76 961 million |
| 4° | Venezuela Venezuela | USD 7 779 million | 4° | Venezuela Venezuela | USD 11 561 million | 4° | Venezuela Venezuela | USD 59 116 million |
| 5° | ChileChile | USD 4 110 million | 5° | ChileChile | USD 9 126 million | 5° | ColombiaColombia | USD 33 400 million |
| 6° | ColombiaColombia | USD 4 031 million | 6° | Peru Peru | USD 7 432 million | 6° | ChileChile | USD 29 036 million |
| 7° | Peru Peru | USD 2 572 million | 7° | ColombiaColombia | USD 7 198 million | 7° | Peru Peru | USD 18 134 million |
| 8° | EcuadorEcuador | USD 2 070 million | 8° | EcuadorEcuador | USD 2 863 million | 8° | EcuadorEcuador | USD 17 881 million |
| 9° | Uruguay Uruguay | USD 1 242 million | 9° | Uruguay Uruguay | USD 2 137 million | 9° | Uruguay Uruguay | USD 10 163 million |
| 10° | GuatemalaGuatemala | USD 1 044 million | 10° | GuatemalaGuatemala | USD 1 904 million | 10° | GuatemalaGuatemala | USD 7 878 million |
| 11° | Jamaica | USD 699 million | 11° | Dominican RepublicDominican Republic | USD 1 486 million | 11° | Dominican RepublicDominican Republic | USD 6 761 million |
| 12° | Dominican RepublicDominican Republic | USD 672 million | 12° | Jamaica | USD 1 405 million | 12° | Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago | USD 6 235 million |
| 13° | El SalvadorEl Salvador | USD 626 million | 13° | Panama Panama | USD 1 351 million | 13° | Costa RicaCosta Rica | USD 4 831 million |
| 14th | Panama Panama | USD 537 million | 14th | El SalvadorEl Salvador | USD 1 133 million | 14th | Panama Panama | USD 4 614 million |
| 15° | Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago | USD 536 million | 15° | BoliviaBolivia | USD 1 017 million | 15° | BoliviaBolivia | USD 4 526 million |
| 16° | Costa RicaCosta Rica | USD 508 million | 16° | Costa RicaCosta Rica | USD 985 million | 16° | Paraguay Paraguay | USD 448 million |
| 17° | BoliviaBolivia | USD 374 million | 17° | Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago | USD 822 million | 17° | HondurasHonduras | USD 3 968 million |
| 18° | HondurasHonduras | USD 336 million | 18° | NicaraguaNicaragua | USD 777 million | 18° | El SalvadorEl Salvador | USD 3 573 million |
| 19° | Paraguay Paraguay | USD 274 million | 19° | HondurasHonduras | USD 723 million | 19° | Jamaica | USD 2 679 million |
| 20° | HaitiHaiti | USD 273 million | 20° | Paraguay Paraguay | USD 595 million | 20° | NicaraguaNicaragua | USD 2 189 million |
| 21° | NicaraguaNicaragua | USD 224 million | 21° | HaitiHaiti | USD 331 million | 21° | HaitiHaiti | USD 1 383 million |
| Source: World Bank BM (1960) | Source: World Bank BM (1970) | Source: World Bank BM (1980) | ||||||
Period 1980-1998
Throughout the 1980s, Venezuela continued to rank as one of the most important economies in the region. It should be remembered that the Caracazo originated in 1989, which resulted in a drastic drop in GDP of -8.9%. But despite the social unrest and the economic consequences generated by the Caracazo of 1989, for in the 1990s, Venezuela was still the fourth largest and most important economy in the region. The year 1998 would be the last year of a great period of economic stability in Venezuela. The following year (1999) Hugo Chávez Frías would come to power.
| Latin American countries according to the size of their economy GDP (gross domestic product) in 1980 | Latin American countries according to the size of their economy GDP (gross domestic product) in 1990 | Latin American countries according to the size of their economy GDP (gross domestic product) in 1998 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N.o | Country | nominal GDP (millions of dollars) | N.o | Country | nominal GDP (millions of dollars) | N.o | Country | nominal GDP (millions of dollars) |
| 1 | BrazilBrazil | USD 235 025 million | 1 | BrazilBrazil | USD 455 173 million | 1 | BrazilBrazil | USD 865 115 million |
| 2° | Mexico Mexico | USD 205 139 million | 2° | Mexico Mexico | USD 290 402 million | 2° | Mexico Mexico | USD 526 522 million |
| 3° | Argentina | USD 76 961 million | 3° | Argentina | USD 153 205 million | 3° | Argentina | USD 324 242 million |
| 4° | Venezuela Venezuela | USD 59 116 million | 4° | Venezuela Venezuela | USD 48 598 million | 4° | ColombiaColombia | USD 117 323 million |
| 5° | ColombiaColombia | USD 33 400 million | 5° | ColombiaColombia | USD 47 844 million | 5° | Venezuela Venezuela | USD 91 905 million |
| 6° | ChileChile | USD 29 036 million | 6° | ChileChile | USD 32 998 million | 6° | ChileChile | USD 81 562 million |
| 7° | Peru Peru | USD 18 134 million | 7° | Peru Peru | USD 28 320 million | 7° | Peru Peru | USD 54 600 million |
| 8° | EcuadorEcuador | USD 17 881 million | 8° | EcuadorEcuador | USD 12 236 million | 8° | EcuadorEcuador | USD 27 474 million |
| 9° | Uruguay Uruguay | USD 10 163 million | 9° | Uruguay Uruguay | USD 10 270 million | 9° | Uruguay Uruguay | USD 25 394 million |
| 10° | GuatemalaGuatemala | USD 7 878 million | 10° | Dominican RepublicDominican Republic | USD 7 995 million | 10° | Dominican RepublicDominican Republic | USD 21 672 million |
| 11° | Dominican RepublicDominican Republic | USD 6 761 million | 11° | GuatemalaGuatemala | USD 7 106 million | 11° | GuatemalaGuatemala | USD 17 488 million |
| 12° | Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago | USD 6 235 million | 12° | Costa RicaCosta Rica | USD 5 716 million | 12° | Costa RicaCosta Rica | USD 13 634 million |
| 13° | Costa RicaCosta Rica | USD 4 831 million | 13° | Panama Panama | USD 5 632 million | 13° | Panama Panama | USD 11 575 million |
| 14th | Panama Panama | USD 4 614 million | 14th | Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago | USD 5 155 million | 14th | El SalvadorEl Salvador | USD 10 937 million |
| 15° | BoliviaBolivia | USD 4 526 million | 15° | Paraguay Paraguay | USD 4 904 million | 15° | Paraguay Paraguay | USD 9 260 million |
| 16° | Paraguay Paraguay | USD 448 million | 16° | BoliviaBolivia | USD 4 868 million | 16° | Jamaica | USD 8 787 million |
| 17° | HondurasHonduras | USD 3 968 million | 17° | El SalvadorEl Salvador | USD 4 818 million | 17° | BoliviaBolivia | USD 8 490 million |
| 18° | El SalvadorEl Salvador | USD 3 573 million | 18° | Jamaica | USD 4 663 million | 18° | HondurasHonduras | USD 6 366 million |
| 19° | Jamaica | USD 2 679 million | 19° | HondurasHonduras | USD 4 169 million | 19° | Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago | USD 6 148 million |
| 20° | NicaraguaNicaragua | USD 2 189 million | 20° | NicaraguaNicaragua | USD 1 009 million | 20° | NicaraguaNicaragua | USD 4 635 million |
| 21° | HaitiHaiti | USD 1 383 million | 21° | HaitiHaiti | USD 990 million | 21° | HaitiHaiti | USD 3 724 million |
| Source: World Bank BM (1980) | Source: International Monetary Fund IMF (1990) | Source: International Monetary Fund IMF (1998) | ||||||
Period 1998-2019
Despite the fact that in 1998 the Venezuelan economy had fallen one position (surpassed by the Colombian economy), it was still within the 5 largest economies in Latin America. The year 2011 would be the last year of the maximum growth that the Venezuelan economy would achieve in its entire history under the command of Hugo Chávez Frías, reaching a GDP of 334 billion dollars that year.
From then on, in 2012, the country's GDP would no longer grow and would begin to slowly decline. But it would be from 2015, when the world reduction in the price of a barrel of oil would hit the Venezuelan economy even more, which would begin to collapse in a much faster, stronger and drastic way, with an accelerated drop in GDP, until it fell 9 positions.. According to the forecasts of the International Monetary Fund, if nothing is done to recover production, then it is expected that the Venezuelan economy will continue to fall many more positions.
Currently (2019), with around 30 million inhabitants, Venezuela only produces only 68% of what it produced in 1998 and 18% of what it produced in 2011.
| Latin American countries according to the size of their economy GDP (gross domestic product) in 1998 | Latin American countries according to the size of their economy GDP (gross domestic product) in 2011 | Latin American countries according to the size of their economy GDP (gross domestic product) for 2019 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N.o | Country | nominal GDP (millions of dollars) | N.o | Country | nominal GDP (millions of dollars) | N.o | Country | nominal GDP (millions of dollars) |
| 1 | BrazilBrazil | USD 865 115 million | 1 | BrazilBrazil | USD 2 613 993 million | 1 | BrazilBrazil | USD 1 893 010 million |
| 2° | Mexico Mexico | USD 526 522 million | 2° | Mexico Mexico | USD 1 180 487 million | 2° | Mexico Mexico | USD 1 322 489 million |
| 3° | Argentina | USD 324 242 million | 3° | Argentina | USD 527 644 million | 3° | Argentina | USD 443 249 million |
| 4° | ColombiaColombia | USD 117 323 million | 4° | Venezuela Venezuela | USD 334 476 million | 4° | ColombiaColombia | USD 343 177 million |
| 5° | Venezuela Venezuela | USD 91 905 million | 5° | ColombiaColombia | USD 334 069 million | 5° | ChileChile | USD 308 505 million |
| 6° | ChileChile | USD 81 562 million | 6° | ChileChile | USD 252 108 million | 6° | Peru Peru | USD 240 175 million |
| 7° | Peru Peru | USD 54 600 million | 7° | Peru Peru | USD 170 837 million | 7° | EcuadorEcuador | USD 109 444 million |
| 8° | EcuadorEcuador | USD 27 474 million | 8° | EcuadorEcuador | USD 79 277 million | 8° | Dominican RepublicDominican Republic | USD 96 291 million |
| 9° | Uruguay Uruguay | USD 25 394 million | 9° | Dominican RepublicDominican Republic | USD 58 088 million | 9° | GuatemalaGuatemala | USD 86 397 million |
| 10° | Dominican RepublicDominican Republic | USD 21 672 million | 10° | Uruguay Uruguay | USD 47 962 million | 10° | Panama Panama | USD 73 369 million |
| 11° | GuatemalaGuatemala | USD 17 488 million | 11° | GuatemalaGuatemala | USD 47 655 million | 11° | Costa RicaCosta Rica | USD 65 179 million |
| 12° | Costa RicaCosta Rica | USD 13 634 million | 12° | Costa RicaCosta Rica | USD 42 717 million | 12° | Uruguay Uruguay | USD 62 921 million |
| 13° | Panama Panama | USD 11 575 million | 13° | Panama Panama | USD 35 837 million | 13° | Venezuela Venezuela | USD 62 917 million |
| 14th | El SalvadorEl Salvador | USD 10 937 million | 14th | Paraguay Paraguay | USD 33 716 million | 14th | BoliviaBolivia | USD 45 253 million |
| 15° | Paraguay Paraguay | USD 9 260 million | 15° | Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago | USD 25 789 million | 15° | Paraguay Paraguay | USD 42 826 million |
| 16° | Jamaica | USD 8 787 million | 16° | BoliviaBolivia | USD 24 135 million | 16° | El SalvadorEl Salvador | USD 27 918 million |
| 17° | BoliviaBolivia | USD 8 490 million | 17° | El SalvadorEl Salvador | USD 20 284 million | 17° | HondurasHonduras | USD 25 314 million |
| 18° | HondurasHonduras | USD 6 366 million | 18° | HondurasHonduras | USD 17 649 million | 18° | Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago | USD 23 251 million |
| 19° | Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago | USD 6 148 million | 19° | Jamaica | USD 14 413 million | 19° | Jamaica | USD 16 474 million |
| 20° | NicaraguaNicaragua | USD 4 635 million | 20° | NicaraguaNicaragua | USD 9 774 million | 20° | NicaraguaNicaragua | USD 12 331 million |
| 21° | HaitiHaiti | USD 3 724 million | 21° | HaitiHaiti | USD 7 516 million | 21° | HaitiHaiti | USD 8 709 million |
| Source: International Monetary Fund IMF (1998) | Note: La economy of Mexico It was beyond billion dollars La economy of Brazil reached the 2 billion dollars. Source: International Monetary Fund IMF(2011) | Note: La economy of Mexico surpasses billion dollars La economy of Brazil almost reached the 2 billion dollars. Source: International Monetary Fund IMF(2019) | ||||||
Historical evolution of inflation in Venezuela
During the period of price stability between 1951 and 1973, Venezuela presented one of the lowest inflation rates in the world, the average interannual rate was 1.6% with a GDP growth rate of 5.7%, characterized by fiscal discipline and the fixed exchange rate.
For some years now, Venezuela has had one of the highest inflation rates in the world. In the last five years, it exceeds all the countries in the region in this parameter, something that did not happen in the 1990s, when countries like Brazil, Peru and Mexico had an inflation rate much higher than that of Venezuela.
In 2007, inflation far exceeded the government target of 11%. The Venezuelan government had undertaken a series of measures to curb inflation, such as reducing the Value Added Tax (VAT) from 16% to 14%, establishing in 2009 at 12%, as well as the issuance of the bolivar fuerte. (as of August 2018 the VAT is 16%)
One of the main causes of high inflation in the country, according to some economists, is the State's policy of printing inorganic money in the economy than would correspond according to the country's production: there is much more liquid money chasing very few products.
On June 11, 2018, the National Assembly reports inflation in Venezuela given that the BCV has not reported economic indicators for two years and only for the month of May it was 110%, and the annualized rate was 24,500% an alarming and unprecedented figure, which shows a situation of hyperinflation in Venezuela and that it continues to worsen.
After 3 years, the Central Bank of Venezuela on May 29, 2019 admitted a hyperinflation of 53,798,500% between 2016 and April 2019, when publishing the data of the National Consumer Price Index and that the four In the first months of 2019, the BCV indicates that accumulated inflation until April is 1,047%.
2013-2019
On Friday, February 8, 2013, the government of then-Vice President Nicolás Maduro announced the economic and exchange measures that would take effect in Venezuela on February 13. The Minister of Finance, Jorge Giordani, and the president of the BCV, Nelson Merentes reported that the price of the dollar distributed by CADIVI would be devalued from 4.30 bolivars to 6.30 bolivars. This corresponded to a 46.5% difference between one quote and the other. According to the government, this would increase the resources available to the state to continue boosting the growth of the economy. In January 2015, Moody's international risk measurer downgraded Venezuela's rating from "CAA1" to "CAA3", which means that the nation increases the risk of default due to the dependence and devaluation of oil.
For 2014, the current government carried out another devaluation by starting to sell dollars at two different rates: at 6.30 the CADIVI rate (students, special cases, retirement and pensions, consular and diplomatic expenses, health and food) and 11.30 the SICAD rate (quotas for travelers, family remittances and foreign currency for airlines). President Nicolás Maduro announced the adhesion of CADIVI to the National Center for Foreign Trade at the end of 2014.
Although for much of 2014 the price of the Venezuelan oil basket remained at an average of 103 dollars a barrel, the external debt of the Republic continued to grow rapidly and registered an 8% jump compared to 2011 to settle at 105 779 million dollars, according to BCV statistics. At the end of 2014, GDP registered a fall of 3.9% for three consecutive quarters, entering a new recession, with an exorbitant increase in inflation, which by December 2014 was at an accumulated 64%.
As of April 10, 2015, a new ruling from CENCOEX restricts dollars for travelers and designates that public banks (Banco de Venezuela, Banco del Tesoro or Banco Bicentenario) will be the only currency exchange operators.
In July 2017, Kansei Le Car, a subsidiary of Kansei Motors, began operations in Venezuela, this company offers services to the Peugeot brand.
On March 22, 2018, President Nicolás Maduro announced that he will eliminate three zeros from the national currency, with a new monetary cone. In the same way that he managed to get the Bs. F. 100 bill out of circulation.
On July 25, 2018, President Nicolás Maduro announces a new monetary conversion, going from eliminating three zeros to eliminating five zeros as of August 20, 2018, in addition to promoting the initiative of new economic regulations. August 20 the increase in VAT (Value Added Tax) to 16% is made official.
Exchange control and the foreign exchange market
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♪March/April 2013: data are missing.
Venezuela's economy has historically been oriented towards exports of oil and its derivatives, and has been dependent on imports of important items, which is why the historic price of the Venezuelan bolivar expressed in units of local currency per US dollar has been key in the decision-making of economic agents. Since the middle of the XX century, the stability and reliability that had characterized the bolivar as a monetary sign was maintained, whose last free price was on 18 February 1983 was 4.30 bolivars per dollar. Since then the constant devaluation of the bolivar, complications with the payment of the external debt, the accelerated deterioration of purchasing power and the implementation of an exchange control called "Differential Exchange Regime" (RECADI) —which operated between February 28, 1983 and February 10, 1989 and which had serious cases of corruption during the government of Jaime Lusinchi— made the exchange stability of the Venezuelan currency disappear.
While the government applied exchange controls in 2003, the bolivar has an implicit value that is hidden but exists: the "black market value" and it is, with what Venezuelans carry out their imports and exports at their borders and has a value in relation to the US dollar, the Colombian peso and the Brazilian real different from the controlled value. In the first years of Chávez's term, his programs newly created social networks required large investments in order to bring about the desired changes in the country. On February 5, 2003, the government created CADIVI, an exchange control system in charge of foreign exchange management procedures. The reason for its creation was to control capital flight, motivated by the financial panic implemented during his government, establishing limits to individuals and offering them only a fixed amount of a foreign currency. After this system, government corruption will grow as it happened with RECADI. This foreign currency limit led to the creation of a black market economy for foreign currency, since Venezuelan merchants needed a reliable and constant flow of foreign currency to purchase imported products that the state could not supply. The Central Bank of Venezuela began to print more bolívares to cover its social programs, so the bolívar continued to devalue for ordinary citizens and merchants, since the government kept most of the currencies.
Since January 2014, the official exchange rate is 1 USD to 6.3 BsF. VEF, while the black market exchange rate is sixty times higher; this is because the real value of the bolivar is overvalued for Venezuelan trade. Since some merchants can only receive a fixed amount of foreign currency than they need to import from the government, they must resort to the black market which in turn increases the merchant's prices for sale to the public. High rates in The black market makes it difficult for companies to purchase needed goods as the government often forces these companies to regulate prices. This leads companies to sell their products with low profit and even loss; for example, the Venezuelan McDonalds franchises that offer a Big Mac meal for just 1 USD. Since the companies earn low profits, this leads to shortages, as they are unable to import the necessary amount of goods that Venezuela needs and it depends to work. Venezuela's largest food production company, Empresas Polar, stated that they may need to suspend some production for most of 2015, as they owe foreign suppliers US$463 million. The latest shortage report in Venezuela showed that 22.4% of needed products were not in stock. This was the last government report as the central bank no longer publishes the shortage index. This has led to speculation, and thus a mechanism for the government to hide its inability to control the economy that could create future doubts about the veracity of the economic data supplied by the government.
The effects of the economic crisis
| Evolution of annual GDP variation according to the Central Bank of Venezuela |
Since 2013, the Venezuelan economy has suffered a drop in its macroeconomic indices, giving way to a period of recession and crisis. The origin of this drop is a combination of structural problems in the Venezuelan economy and the strong external influence of the world financial crisis with the drop in oil prices. In 2014, the GDP had a variation of -3.9%, in 2015 of -5.7%. At the end of 2015 there was a slight improvement with a rise of 0.1%, but again in 2016 it fell again 1.6%. The Crisis in Venezuela has manifested itself particularly harshly, in a sharp increase in unemployment, with an unemployment rate of 14% in the first quarter of 2015 according to INE data. With the engine of the economy damaged before the crisis, framed by exchange controls (CADIVI), and a strong accumulation of debt, the structural weakness of the Venezuelan economic model of recent years is evident.
In addition to everything, inflation has been an important fact in this context, which in 2014 reached 68.5%. This figure is one of the highest that have been recorded in the economic history of the country and was the highest in the world during 2013. Likewise, inflation in 2015 was 180.9%, and for 2016 the IMF forecast inflation greater than 700%.
The fall in oil prices has been one of the causes of the economic crisis. The Central Bank of Venezuela announces the fall of the International Reserve, standing at 13,501 million dollars. After the cancellation of the external debt in Global Bonds 2016 for 1,543 million dollars.
By November 2017, the government of Nicolás Maduro called to refinance the external debt. During 2020, the Venezuelan International Reserves have averaged 6,500 million dollars.
Shortage
One of the most particular phenomena in the last decade has been the shortage of daily consumption products, particularly those with regulated prices, such as milk, various types of meat, oil and others. The governments of Chávez and Maduro have linked this shortage in the first place to an increase in consumption, which cannot be quickly met by production, and increasingly to hoarding and smuggling.[citation required] Economists in general consider that price control at a value below costs, excess monetary liquidity in the face of a system of little national production and the expropriation by the State of about 1,200 private companies that supplied the national market are the main causes of such shortages. They consider that the economy of Venezuela suffers the typical effects of an economy of scarcity. The smuggling factor is admitted by both groups: various products are much cheaper in Venezuela than in Colombia, Brazil and other neighboring countries. By December 2013, the degree of scarcity according to the BCV indicated that there was a shortage of 22%. This means that 22% of the products that consumers were looking for in businesses could not be found.
For May 2019, the price of the family food basket was 1,924,265.03 bolivars, for which 48.10 minimum wages were required (salary 40,000 bolivars per month). All the products in the basket go up between 15% and 33% and during the month of April there was a shortage of twenty-one products, including powdered milk, canned tuna, corn oil, mayonnaise, butter, chicken eggs, coffee, pasta noodles, sugar, bread, cheese, and others additionally antibiotics, a wide range of medicines, basic products for personal hygiene and cleaning.
Measures against the economic crisisː 2014-2016
Given the historical scope of this economic crisis and its global nature, a wide range of measures have been used to combat it. During the moments of the crisis, the government practiced a fiscal policy to stimulate demand: the approval of the Red Package of February 17, 2016, which included all the economic, financial and fiscal measures that the Executive would apply to try to recover the path of growth. The Plan was based on four major lines of action: measures to support families, measures to promote employment, measures to support the financial system and measures to modernize the economy. The government announced tax cuts and new spending worth 227.6 billion bolivars, 47.9% of the Gross Domestic Product, in 2014.
Nevertheless, the public debt markets were concerned about the alarming rate of deterioration of the country's public accounts; In September 2014, the rating of Venezuela's sovereign debt was downgraded by the international agency Standard & Poor's. In 2013, public sector debt was around 52% of GDP, a lower figure than the average for Latin America, but throughout 2014 the public deficit increased by 14%. The main The causes are the pronounced drop in GDP, the equally pronounced rise in unemployment and the strong investment in aid programs such as those contained in the Red Package.
As a result of this situation, in December 2014 the Government approved a package of cut measures that tried to stop the growth of the public deficit for 108 billion bolivars.
Currency Systems
In February 2015, a new exchange system called the Marginal Currency System (SIMADI) was incorporated. When trading began on the 13th, the price of the dollar stood at 170 bolivars. In March 2015, 2016, two new currency systems are developed, Protected Exchange Rate (DIPRO) and Complementary Exchange Rate (DICOM), the first at a cost of 10 bs. per dollar and the other started at 206 bs., the announcement was made known by Miguel Pérez Abad. On May 23, 2017, the DICOM dollar was at 727.97 bolivars. This day a new DICOM system came into force. The first auction was called on May 25 with a band of possible offers for the purchase of dollars between 1,800 and 2,000 Bs, equivalent to a devaluation of at least 60%.
Year 2017
In 2017 there was a relapse of the Venezuelan economy that has produced an approximate decrease of the Gross Domestic Product of 9.5%. The cause of this deterioration was the worsening of the public debt crisis, caused by the distrust of international financial markets towards the hidden losses of Venezuelan financial institutions and their possible consequences on public coffers. This mistrust translated into the closure of international financial markets to the Venezuelan economy and the flight of foreign investors from Venezuelan assets. It has been a dangerous year financially.
Job destruction has been very strong, reaching an annual average of 25%. This unemployment, together with the tax increase made to try to control the deficit, has caused a significant erosion of family income and consequently of consumption and investment.
The only sector that has had a positive behavior during the year has been abroad, which has brought a slight increase in exports and a decrease in imports, producing a positive balance in the balance of goods and services.
In November 2017, the government stopped paying some bonds among themselves, which accumulate to 17 types of bonds that total about 2,014 million dollars.
Evolution of the unemployment rate in Venezuela
Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Year 2018
On April 10, the capital of the 2018 Elecar Bonds issued in 2008, which are in Default and could be claimed at any time, were not paid on time, as they were already late in paying interest last October.
Hyperinflation
After the announcements offered by President Nicolás Maduro, at the beginning of November 2017, such as the salary increase and the circulation of the 100,000 bolivar note; economists and the media affirmed that Venezuela has initiated a hyperinflation, after showing inflation of 50.6% last October. Analysts on the subject and the media affirm that to curb hyperinflation, they must first stop printing banknotes, unify the exchange rate, increase production national and imported consumer goods that are necessary, in addition to suppressing price controls.
Year 2019
On January 28, a new exchange modality begins in the country. Interbanex as an exchange modality for private companies and individuals without the participation of public sector companies through a platform created for this purpose with the participation of Banco Occidental de Descuento for the moment and a referential exchange rate according to the parallel market and informed by the Central Reserve Bank of Venezuela.
On May 1, the DICOM system is eliminated, which establishes the release of the Foreign Exchange Market with some problems given the Sanctions issued against national banks and their correspondents when carrying out certain operations.
On May 7, Interbanex closes its operations 90 days after its creation to make way for the money desks of the financial system and to disappear the DICOM scheme.
The Central Bank of Venezuela informed the country that the International Reserves for May 24 closed at US $7,965 million dollars, 0.2% less than the previous week, which closed at US $7,981 million on May 17, a figure the lowest in 30 years. Let's remember for 1998 the reserves were in US $14,849 million dollars. After 3 years, the Central Bank of Venezuela admitted a hyperinflation of 53,798,500% between 2016 and April 2019, when publishing the data of the National Consumer Price Index and that in the first four months of 2019 the BCV indicates that Accumulated inflation up to April is 1,047%.
That same year, the US dollar began to be established in the country as the de facto currency due to the monstrous devaluation of the local currency. At first it was only for large transactions; however, over time it has spread to other areas of the economy, becoming very common.
Year 2021
In July 2021 Venezuela has an "overdue debt" on its external debt that accumulates close to 80 billion dollars including interest because it has stopped paying its holders since 2017
Year 2022
Venezuela has remained in Default since November 2017, it also has several international lawsuits due to expropriations during the Chávez government that they have ruled against, such as the case of the Delaware court that launched the sale of Citgo shares to pay compensation of 1,200 million dollars to the mining company Crystalex expropriated in 2008. In March, ICSID ordered Venezuela to pay 1,629 million dollars for breaching the agreement with the Spanish agro-inputs group when expropriating the Agroisleña company in 2010. Another case like the Bonaire court that sentenced the payment of 41.69 million dollars for PDVSA's overdue debts for rentals of crude oil warehouses. The economist Hermes Pérez specified that Venezuela has been in default since the end of 2017, highlighting that "We have a US$85 billion default"
Exports
In 2020, Venezuela ranks 76th. among exporting countries (US$16.4 million in goods, 0.1% of the world total).
Hydrocarbons
Venezuela's economy is centered on oil exports. Dependence on oil has increased in recent years. While in 1999 exports of oil goods and services represented 76% of exports, in 2005 the percentage had risen to 86% and in 2012 it rose to 96%. The percentage of oil exports in total exports had been 91.9% in 1958, 92.8% in 1968, 93.6% in 1978 and 81.1% in 1988. At the end of 2013, Venezuela was exporting about 1.7 million barrels of oil per day.
Real oil production and export figures have been the subject of much controversy. PDVSA president Rafael Ramírez stated in 2011 that Venezuela would increase its oil production and would produce some 4.02 million barrels of oil by 2012. In 2012, Ramírez stated that Venezuela would produce 4 million barrels by 2014. In December 2013, the president of PDVSA said that oil production in 2014 would be 3 million 11 thousand barrels of oil.
The state company PDVSA is in charge of managing oil resources. In 1998, some 36,000 people worked in this company, which produced more than 3.48 million barrels of oil per day. In 2011, PDVSA had 121,187 workers, of whom 104,187 worked in oil production, producing 2.76 million barrels of oil per day, a significant drop in productivity.
In 2012, PDVSA produced 2.91 million barrels of crude daily. In 2013, this figure was 2.89 million barrels. Since the drop in production between 2017 and 2021, exports have fallen to 529,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and fuel.
Non-oil products
In 1998 the country exported non-oil goods worth 5,529 million dollars, while in 2012 the figure was only 3,771 million dollars. Coffee exports to the US have resumed during the year 2021, similarly, exports have been made so far of 196 containers with 4,833 tons of mung beans, black bean, sweet biscuit in 36 operations to India, Vietnam, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, the Philippines, Turkey, Singapore, Hong- Kong, the Dominican Republic and the United States. Chinese beans directed to China, India and Vietnam. Other products are the export of green coffee from Barquisimeto to the United States. It has also been possible to export from "Dry port of Lara& #3. 4; so far 320 tons of green coffee and more than 6,000 tons of Chinese beans, black bean, green or natural coffee Maria biscuits and non-ferrous products during the current year. The exchange of products between the US and Venezuela during the 2021 allows the export of crabs, fresh fish, electrical conductors and methanol, displacing oil in exchange for food (soybean oil, corn and rice) cell phones and telephones according to the Office of Commerce and Economic Analysis. Venezuela until the end of November has exported to the US US 222 million and imported 1352 million dollars
Imports
In 2016, the country was the 63rd largest importer in the world: US$33.6 billion.
In 2012 Venezuela imported goods and services (CIF) for a total value of 65,360,000,000 dollars. In 1998, total imports of goods and services amounted to 15,492,000,000 dollars.[citation needed]
The country has traditionally been an importer of a large number of manufactured products, but in recent years this trend has increased. In 2012-2013, the most important import items were machinery and spare parts for mechanical and electrical or electronic parts and machinery.[citation required]
Food
According to Agriculture Minister Yván Gil, Venezuela imported 50% of the food it consumed in 2013. In 2008, Venezuela was the world's leading importer of powdered milk.
The country currently imports products that it traditionally exported, such as coffee, rice and corn. In 2012, these products were imported for an approximate amount of 1028 million dollars. Other typical Venezuelan products such as sugar have also been imported.
Venezuela produced in 2019:
- 4.3 million tons of sugar cane;
- 1.9 million tons of corn;
- 1.4 million tons of banana;
- 760 thousand tons of rice;
- 485 thousand tons of pineapple;
- 477 thousand tons of potato;
- 435 thousand tons of palm oil;
- 421 thousand tons of cassava;
- 382 thousand tons of orange;
- 225 thousand tons of watermelon;
- 199 thousand tons of papaya;
- 194 thousand tons of melon;
- 182 thousand tons of tomatoes;
- 155 thousand tons of mandarin;
- 153 thousand tons of coconut;
- 135 thousand tons of avocado;
- 102 thousand tons of mango (including mangostan and guava);
- 56 thousand tons of coffee;
In addition to small productions of other agricultural products. Due to internal economic and political problems, sugarcane production dropped from 7.3 million tons in 2012 to 3.6 million in 2016. Corn production dropped from 2.3 million tons in 2014 to 1 2 million in 2017. Rice fell from 1.15 million tons in 2014 to 498 thousand tons in 2016.
Livestock
In livestock, Venezuela produced, in 2019: 470 thousand tons of beef, 454 thousand tons of chicken meat, 129 thousand tons of pork, and 1.7 billion liters of cow's milk, among others. Chicken meat production decreased progressively, from year to year, from 1.1 million tons in 2011 to 448 thousand tons in 2017. Pork meat production fell from 219 thousand tons in 2011 to 1