Venezuela tries to end toilet paper shortage | World News |Axisoflogic.com

Oil-rich Venezuela is moving to end shortages of toilet paper and other hygiene products.

The country's National Assembly has approved a $79-million credit for the country's Ministry of Commerce.

AFP reports that the funds will be used to purchase 39 million rolls of toilet paper, 50 million sanitary napkins, 10 million bars of soap, 17 million disposable diapers and three million tubes of toothpaste.

Reuters reported that Venezuelans are scrambling to get staple products. At one supermarket, a stack of toilet paper sold out in five minutes, prompting store workers to remind customers they could only buy four packages at a time.

"It's a sad moment when a rich country like Venezuela reaches this situation," Yenny Caballero told Reuters at a store in Caracas, the capital.

Analysts point to price and currency controls for the shortages. They say the currency controls limit the country's ability to pay for foreign products, while the price controls curtail private-sector incentives to increase output.

President Nicolas Maduro, selected by the dying Hugo Chavez to continue his "Bolivarian Revolution," blames the shortage on the private sector, the United States and opposition political groups.

Maduro won April's presidential election by a very narrow margin. Ruling party politicians claim the shortages are due to panic buying by consumers and hoarding by merchants who hope to drive up prices.

"We have consistently denounced the strategy of hoarding and speculation, and the campaign of terror that has spread among the people, forcing them to buy compulsively and fearfully," Jose Avila, a member of the ruling party, told AFP.

Venezuela's rate of inflation, which is currently about 25 per cent, is said to be the highest in Latin America, while the country's currency, the bolivar, has been repeatedly devalued.

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