Food plan: Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez
Venezuela floats food from oil plan
Venezuela called on fellow Latin American energy-producing countries today to set up a fund for food aid using windfall oil profits in an effort to give poor nations some relief from soaring prices.
President Hugo Chavez will invite regional oil and gas producers Brazil, Mexico, Ecuador and Bolivia as well as Cuba to a summit in Caracas to set up the oil-for-food fund, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said, Reuters reported.
"We will devise a formula based on the price of oil and the level of production that would allow for the creation of a special oil-for-food fund, taking into consideration the means of each country," said Nicolas Maduro, addressing a regional meeting on the food crisis in Managua.
He did not give further details about the plan. Venezuela has already pledged $100 million with other regional leaders to buy staples such as rice, beans and corn. The countries hope to stave off protests and political unrest now plaguing nations from Cameroon to Bangladesh.
Oil prices have hit record highs at $120 per barrel in recent days, a bonanza for oil-rich countries like Venezuela but devastating for poor Latin Americans suffering from inflation.
Small farmers in the region have been hurt by skyrocketing prices for oil-based fertilisers and higher transportation costs.
Latin American leaders gathered at the one-day meeting in Nicaragua yesterday to address the problem of rising global prices for basic grains, caused by a combination of factors from increased food demand in Asia to the use of crops for biofuels.