U.S. Rice Farmers Cash In On Venezuelan Socialism

[Bacchus4.0]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-rice-farmers-cash-venezuelan-030600234.html

-----------------------


It is a paradoxical legacy of Mr. Chávez's self-styled socialist revolution that his policies became a moneymaker for the capitalist systems he deplored. During his 14 years in power, he nationalized large farms, redistributed land and controlled food prices as part of a strategy to help the poor.

But these policies turned Venezuela from a net exporter to a net importer of rice—from farmers like Mr. Orlicek. "The rice industry has been very good to us," Mr. Orlicek said, sitting in his newly renovated home, appointed with a baby grand piano played by his wife, Phyllis.

It isn't just rice. Production of steel, sugar and many other goods has fallen in Venezuela, leading to occasional shortages. Until recently, Venezuela was largely self-sufficient in beef and coffee. Now it imports both.
Associated Press Arkansas rice fields like this one are sending their crop to Venezuela.
In this year's first half, the U.S. exported $94 million of rice to Venezuela, a 62% jump from a year-earlier, making Venezuela the U.S.'s fourth-largest rice market, according to the Department of Agriculture.

--------------------.

A recent World Bank report says that 30% of people who were originally considered "not poor" in Venezuela fell into poverty between 1992 and 2006. In most other Latin American countries, the middle class grew in that time.

[BlueToTheBone]

1. I'm sure our rice farmers in Arkansas

are happy. Their arsenic laden rice is being purchased! Yeah! No remediation of those old cotton fields, just plant food!

[Bacchus4.0]

2. yep, it sounds like they are happy to be selling more of it n/t

s