May 25, 2008
Venezuela's MERCAL Benefits 13 Million People
On April 2003 the Bolivarian government decided to create the company Mercados y Alimentos C.A. (MERCAL) to counteract the power of food monopolies and other intermediates that put up the price of products.
A flagship program of Mission Food, MERCAL started with three markets located in different barrios of Caracas' West.
Nowadays, MERCAL offers products to the community through 15,677 establishments spread all over the country and benefits more than 13 million Venezuelans (almost half of the population).
"MERCAL was created due to political junctures. That terrible strike, which tried to humiliate and bend people impeding their right to access food, originated this great food support tool for the low-income class. That's why April 2003 and January 2004 represents the beginning of a great structure that reaches 15,000 groceries," the Venezuelan Minister of People�s Power for Food, Felix Osorio, said.
The oil sabotage perpetrated in December 2002 and January 2003 evidenced high vulnerability of Venezuela in the social and economic field. In this sense, the Bolivarian government implements measures to guarantee food distribution and supply, because private companies controlled food sector and threatened the government with their plans.
Oligopolistic groups that used to have the control in the past, contributed to put up the price of products of the food basic basket.
"That is why the Bolivarian government has offered food subsidy for low-income sectors during five years; and we will continue developing this policy to fight the world's food crisis," Minister Osorio said during an official act to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Mission Food.
The creation of the program in April 2003, besides putting food security under control of the state, has become an important step to reduce poverty. Its implementation changed the conception of how to measure the impact of social policies developed by the government, and it produced reconsideration of economic indexes evaluated in Venezuela by the National Statistics Institute (INE Spanish acronym),which were considered under traditional parameters.
According to the INE's figures, from 1999 to 2007 extremely poverty decreased 53 percent; at the same time non-extremely poverty was dropped by 16.8 percent thanks to the running of Social Missions, including Mission Food.
MERCAL: Low Prices and Stimulation of Productive Work
Mission Food was launched to guarantee food security and stimulate the productive work linking the food field with other actions, such as teaching, training and the creation of cooperatives that look forward to improve human condition of the peoples.
Nowadays, MERCAL works with 1,743 cooperatives and 658 companies that started as small companies. It shows the impulse the Bolivarian Revolution has given to the new model of economic development and cultural transformation.
Several producers that did not have the opportunity to sell their products in important food distribution networks could do it through Mission Food, which demands three conditions to get in: good quality products, low prices and reliability.
But the most important figures are represented by consumer's savings when they buy some products in MERCAL: 49 percent in comparison to the government-regulated prices and 67 percent in comparison to the market. In MERCAL stores staples are distributed among the population through four kinds of stores. They are spread all over the Venezuelan territory in order to reach low-income people and populations with difficult access.
Increasing Storage Capacity
The Storage and Agricultural Service Corporation (CASA Spanish acronym), created in 1989, went into a process of restructuring during the Bolivarian government and in a short-term it started to import food products because of 2002-2003 oil sabotage. By that time, it was impossible to import food through private companies.
Furthermore, CASA recovers an important number of ruined silo plants owned by the private sector, which increased from six in May 2003 to 31 in May 2008.
Nowadays, the corporation is considered one of the biggest traders: more than 100,000 metric tons of food monthly distributed all over the Venezuelan territory, according to figures of the Ministry of Food.
Statistics shows silo plants were improved to storage rice, corn, sorghum, soy, among other cereals. The storage capacity of the plants is 900,000 metric tons of cereal. Moreover, CASA has three refrigerators which have an operative capacity of 14,600 metric tons. Currently, three additional refrigerators are being set in Carabobo, Anzo�tegui and Zulia states (Venezuela�s North).
As a mechanism to strengthen food security, CASA promoted food transforming and commercialization phase. The productive cycle includes sowing, harvest, storage, distribution and processing. In this sense, CASA opened in February 23, 2006, LOGICASA, the first state-owned logistic company located in Vargas state, Caracas' North, created to satisfy the demand regarding transportation, storage and packing of products.
Food Houses for Paupers
After being administrative cleaned up by the revolutionary government, the Strategic Food Program Foundation (FUNDAPROAL), started to offer services through more than 6,075 Food Houses, which benefit more than 877,950 people who receive two meals for free, according to the Ministry of Food.
Abandoned children, elderly people and woman who have no opportunity to be fed are benefited. Those who receive meals from the Food Houses are evaluated every three months in order to know whether they are improving their situation and offer the same opportunity to other people.
FUNDAPROAL gave a grant to CASA's workers who had work during a long time without receiving any remuneration.
Besides the Food Houses, the foundation implemented a social program called Nutritional Supplement, to cover nutritional necessities of the have-nots. It consists on giving a bag with eight products of the Basic Food Basket to familiar groups who have no incomes and live in difficult-access places.
Currently, there are more than 112,463 families receiving this benefit.
Here You Can Buy Cheaper
Mirna Perdomo, beneficiary of a MERCAL grocery store in Caracas� west and housewife with a family nucleus of four people, considers MERCAL has become an important saving method which helps to buy more food.
Moreover, it allows her to buy basic food products without going down of the barrio where she lives. "Since MERCAL was opened I don't have to take a long trip up and down in a jeep to buy what I need."
Maria Ramirez, neighbor of Las Casitas community, pointed out that MERCAL helps a lot of poor people in the barrios. "Since MERCAL is here I don�t need to by my products somewhere else."
In order to improve its service, Ramirez suggested that MERCALS should be supplied more often. "Some food is sold out faster, such as sugar and oil, especially on Saturdays, the day people usually goes to the market."
Antonia Marin, neighbor of Caracas' El Valle parish and mother of two kids, said she was happy about MERCAL and ask to improve food supply of sugar, oil and baby food. "Other brands of whole milk should be included."
Blanca Davila goes to the market store every two or three days and considers MERCAL is the best option Venezuela has had, "because here you buy cheaper. You go to a regular market with 50 bolivares (23.3 US dollars) and you can't buy almost anything. But in MERCAL I take the same amount of money and I can buy sugar, rice, oil and some other things. We are very grateful with the President and we pray every day to God bless him."
Finally, she suggested MERCAL officials to add cheap cloths and school products to their branch of products.
By Carlos Ibarra / Ministry of People's Power for Communication and Information (MinCI)
Also see Food Wastage and Rising Food Prices by Arturo Rosales
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