Venezuelan exports climb after US attack – official

Venezuela’s exports and diplomatic relations have rebounded quickly after the violent attack two months ago that led to President Nicolás Maduro’s removal, marking an unexpected moment of recovery for the country’s economy, a visiting Venezuelan official said Thursday. 

 

As a Venezuelan delegation visited here for Agrofest at Queen’s Park on Thursday, Tomás Reyes, Secretary of Economy for the state of Lara, said that Venezuelan exports to the US began almost immediately after the incident.  

 

“We have exported 67 containers of green coffee to the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Italy,” he told reporters. “But together Venezuela has exported more than 200 containers of coffee around the world. 

 

“We also exported in the last month between 17 to 30 charcoal containers, so our exporting experience has been the same after the attack.”  

 

Reyes revealed that after an initial week of shock, the country was able to stabilise. He noted that Venezuela’s relationship with the United States has grown stronger.  

 

“Our relationship with America is getting stronger, getting better,” he said.  

 

Barbados Ambassador to Caracas, Commander Aquinas Clarke, told reporters that the attack on Venezuela was isolated to the capital, leaving most businesses unaffected.  

 

“The attack has not affected the businesses, and the businesses are here, supported by their government and supported by the private sector. The attack was very limited, really in Caracas,” Ambassdor Clarke said.  

 

The ambassador said that international relations since January 3 have improved for Venezuela.  

 

“The country was calm and the country remains calm and has been on a road to growth, working with the United States, and the United States established an embassy there. The Italians upgraded their diplomatic representation to ambassador, there are better relations with Colombia, and they are talking to a lot of the other regional partners.”

 

The Barbadian envoy said that while Barbados does not get involved in the internal politics of other countries, he is hoping for a peaceful and successful outcome for Venezuela.  

 

“We do not get involved in internal politics and so what I can say from a Barbadian standpoint, a regional standpoint, is that we are hoping for a very successful and peaceful outcome to Venezuela. It looks like it is going that way, and at this point in time we do not see any indicators that it would change in the near future.”

 

Reyes discussed plans to improve relations with the Caribbean as Venezuela seeks to expand its export of pineapples to the region.  

 

He said: “Guara pineapple, we are expanding our exporting of pineapple. We hope to get at least one or two containers a week of pineapple from Lara. We want to expand not only to Barbados, but also to the whole CARICOM.”  

 

Reyes also spoke about Lara state’s capacity to supply milk to the Caribbean.  

 

“We have a great deal of land and agriculture. We have cows. We have an excellent milk production in Lara. Four of the six companies that make the UHT milk cover 80 per cent of the country’s milk demand. We are capable of processing over 150 000 litres a day.   

 

“We are thinking of selling milk to the whole Caribbean.”

 

As Venezuela continues to rebuild and reposition itself on the international stage, officials stressed that agriculture and trade will remain central not only to strengthening ties with the US but also to deepening regional trade across the Caribbean.