The Human Rights Commission in the state of Zulia, Comisión para los Derechos Humanos del Estado Zulia (Codhez), presented the results of the monitoring of food prices in the second half of April in Maracaibo. On average, food prices increased by 42%, adding to the public service crisis and the lockdown from the collective and social quarantine, worsening the daily life of the Zulian people.
In the last few weeks, the Government announced control and inspection measures of some food enterprises and distributors, causing worry of a potential scarcity scenario in the population.
Similarly, the national Government announced the regulation of prices in bolivars and petros for some food products on April 27, while the Ministry of Social Process of Labor announced an increase of Bs. 400,000.00 in the minimum salary starting May 1, equivalent to USD 2.34 according to the Central Bank’s exchange rate of Bs. 171,072.85 on April 27.
A kilogram of whole chicken reached the market price of Bs. 382,391.67, even though the fixed price set by the national Government stands at Bs. 279,360.88, resulting in a 37% difference.
Beef was the item that experienced, on average, the highest increase of prices in the last two weeks. The price of the highest-quality cut increased from Bs. 543,050.00 to Bs. 805,320.86, the price of the second highest-quality cut increased from Bs. 434,900.00 to Bs. 757,030.00, and the price of ribs increased from Bs. 268,700.00 to Bs. 388,516.67. The market prices were also higher than those fixed by the national Government: 24% difference in the case of the highest-quality cut, 27% difference for the second highest-quality cut and 4% difference for ribs.
Other protein-based foods, such as the 30-egg carton, reached an average price of Bs. 691,997.33. The price of this carton fixed by the national Government stands at Bs. 596,1970.00.
Under these circumstances, Codhezreiterates its call to the Venezuelan State to comply by its constitutional obligation to satisfy the basic needs of the entire population, with special emphasis on the right to a complete and balanced nutritional diet, especially in the context of the state of alarm in which we find ourselves.
