VÍCTOR SALMERÓN
EL UNIVERSAL

Four years after the implantation of the exchange control, US dollars have turned into a superb business for some Venezuelans. It is possible to get US dollars for VEB 2,150 from the Foreign Exchange Administration Board (Cadivi) and resell them in the free market for more than twice its value.

In an attempt at stopping such practice, the Government summoned 30,000 people to produce evidence of how they used their annual allocation of USD 5,000 for trips, USD 3,000 for e-purchase and USD 500 for withdrawal of cash abroad by means of credit cards.

Everything points to an unusual jump in delivery of foreign currency for such purposes. As a matter of fact, as of December 6th, global allocation was in the aggregate of 4.3 billion. This amount exceeds by 97 percent the USD 2.1 billion awarded for import of food, by 122 percent the quota to buy inputs for healthcare and even by 20.5 percent the portion for car purchase.

"The exchange difference is huge. On average, the non-official dollar has been sold this year for VEB 5,000. This means that the official dollar for VEB 2,150 is extremely cheap. Therefore, there is much incentive to buy things abroad. The issue of corruption, speculators, cannot be denied," said Asdrúbal Oliveros, CEO of pollster Ecoanalítica.

The non-official exchange rate has risen from VEB 3,400 beginning this year, under the pressure of a strong demand against a background of political uncertainty, the end of the supply of ADR (American Depositary Receipts) provided by telecommunications company Cantv and interest rates which do not offset the inflation.

"The government is sewing patches by taking steps such as the rolls of users, who should show the use of dollars. What is needed instead is to reduce the gap between the official dollar and the parallel dollar, in order to remove the incentive for sale of quotas. This can be done with weekly bids of bonds," said Oliveros.

A cheap official dollar stimulates also the hike in imports. Following an increase of 36.4 percent compared with the same period in 2006, non-oil imports during the first nine months of 2007 stood at USD 28.4 billion.

The penance
Those who need to print out the form to apply for the use of foreign currency abroad, should get up very early in the morning and stand in a queue for more than 12 hours.

Failures on Cadivi website have forced the users to try to get the paper in the very head offices of Cadivi, despite the promises by the Cadivi chairman on Monday that the portal would work normally for individuals from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Cadivi reported on its website that the individual service would finish next Friday.

Translated by Conchita Delgado
cdelgado@eluniversal.com