Coffee shows the plight of Venezuela’s masses
- Unfiltered
- Mar 9, 2019
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 10, 2019
By Sam Balf
At the end of 2016, over half a decade into the socioeconomic crisis that continues to plague Venezuela, Bloomberg released an on-going statistical study on the price of coffee in the country, their Cafe Con Leche Index. The index tracks the cup of Cafe Con Leche, “served piping hot at a bakery in eastern Caracas.”
The simple drink of hot-brewed roasted coffee beans mixed with a small foam of hot milk, akin to a mini-cappuccino, is common on every street corner in Caracas’ once bustling streets.
For the humble price of a few bolivars, (at the time of the start of the index, roughly 0.10 US cents) a person could buy an energising drink in moments and continue with their journey or day.
But as the economy continues to tank in Venezuela, the ensuing hyperinflation has caused havoc with domestic prices and left many in the country’s coffee industry struggling to stay afloat in business.
Once the world’s third-largest coffee exporter, many Venezuelan coffee producers have been unable to accurately price their product as a result of the hyperinflation. The situation has reached a point where now Venezuela has an “oil for coffee beans” swap arrangement with neighbouring Nicaragua, in order to bring in coffee beans for consumers.
Yet the coffee which these beans now make costs as much as 2,000 Bolivars, an increase of 399,900 per cent according to the Index. At these prices, caraqueños are unable to enjoy what used to a common morning or evening drink.
And with no light seemingly visible coming through the dark economic clouds that shroud Venezuela’s economy.
The plight of the country’s people, its industries, coupled with the mismanagement of resources and lack of outside assistance has damaged, perhaps permanently, what was once a thriving coffee industry, and culture.
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