Empresas Polar suspends pasta production at Venezuela facility

Empresas Polar, the largest private company in Venezuela, has temporarily halted the production of pasta at its plant in Maracaibo, after the government delayed the provision of foreign currency, which is required to purchase wheat.

In a statement, Empresas Polar said the operations were suspended on 27 April after it exhausted the existing wheat supplies.

The company noted that its stocks of wheat that were loaned from other companies were exhausted. However, it did not reveal how much it owed in dollars.

Empresas Polar has warned the government over the impact of withholding dollars on the production of pasta, a basic staple in Venezuela.

In order to receive dollars for import, firms in Venezuela pay in local bolivars to the state currency board Cencoex, formerly known as Cadivi.

Polar, which produces food and drink from beer to corn flour, produces pasta under its Primor and Gran Senora brands.

The company produces the nation’s top-selling beer, as well as a brand of flour used for arepas, a flatbread made of ground maize dough or cooked flour that is another staple food, and also distributes Pepsi-Cola in the country.

Currently, the socialist government under the leadership of President Nicolas Maduro is conducting meetings with business leaders in order to increase production in the nation. However, firms have been facing problems including currency restrictions.

According to the International Pasta Association, Venezuela is the world’s second-biggest consumer of pasta per capita after Italy.

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Image: Empresas Polar has temporarily halted the production of pasta in Venezuela, over delays in foreign currency allocations from the government.