Venezuela's government said on Tuesday it planned to create a state-run sugar company and a cereal and oil seeds enterprise as part of President Hugo Chavez's agrarian reforms for the poor. Information Minister Andres Izarra said a government cabinet had approved the creation of CVA Azucar and CVA Cereales y Oleaginosas to oversee and co-ordinate the production, sale, import and export of those commodities.
"CVA Azucar will reinforce our strategy of food security and also carry out what is established in the land law regarding the development of the chain of production," Izarra told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
He said the companies were still in the planning stages and did not provide any further details. The minister said the government would also create a dairy products company.
Venezuela, the world's No 5 oil exporter, this year began enforcing a disputed agrarian land redistribution law that the government says is aimed at fighting rural poverty and developing domestic agriculture output.
Left-winger Chavez often complains about Venezuela's heavy reliance on food imports and he has promised to increase domestic crop output. But critics say his agrarian reforms are not sustainable and lack co-ordination.