Introduction to the main economies of the coffee-producing countries of Venezuela

Venezuela's main source of economy

Industry

It is relatively developed, focusing on the development of iron and steel, petrochemical, aluminum smelting and other industries since the 1970s.

Agriculture

The area of cultivated land accounts for only 7.1% of the area of arable land, mainly producing corn, rice, coffee, cocoa, sugar cane, cotton and so on. Animal husbandry is mainly cattle raising, and agricultural and animal husbandry products are not self-sufficient. Crude oil and its products account for more than 90% of the total export value, followed by iron ore, aluminum, coffee and cocoa, and imported machinery and equipment, raw materials, grain and daily necessities. Domestic traffic is mainly road transport, mainly distributed in the northwest and north; air transport is developed.

Foreign trade

Exports: Petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, iron and steel, chemicals, agricultural products, basic industrial products. Import: raw materials, machinery and equipment, transportation equipment, construction materials.

Petroleum

Oil accounts for about 80% of Venezuela's export revenue, which is the lifeblood of Venezuela's economy. Venezuela is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting countries (OPEC) and one of the world's major oil producers. It is rich in all kinds of crude oil, exporting 852.928.510 barrels of crude oil in 2004, mostly to the United States, Europe and other Latin American countries. Most of the oil is produced in Venezuela's Lake Maracaibo and Barinas-Aboulaye basins and in the eastern part of the country. The Venezuelan government nationalized its oil industry in 1976. PDVSA, the Venezuelan oil company, has taken control of Venezuela's oil resources, and its subsidiaries operate six refineries of different sizes in Venezuela and overseas (Curassau, the United States, Germany, Sweden and Belgium). Venezuela is also one of the world's major natural gas producers, producing 29.7 billion cubic meters in 2003; its products are natural gas, ethane and propane gas.

Venezuelan economic development

In recent years, the Venezuelan economy has shown a strong recovery after many political and social conflicts. Venezuela's economy grew by 17% in 2004 (one of the highest in the world according to the World Bank). By the end of 2005, Venezuela's gross domestic product (PIB) had grown by 9.4%, compared with 9.4% in 2006. The basic index of country risk is 216. The unemployment rate in December 2005 (8.9%, up from 8.5% in 2006) was 2 percentage points lower than the figure in 2004 (10.9%). Foreign exchange reserves reached 37.299 billion US dollars