UNITED NATI O N S ECONOMIC A K D ^^^ SOCIAL COUNCIL ^ ^ GENERAL ^ March 1961 ENGLISH o r ™ ™ ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR LATIN AMEñlCA Ninth Session Caracas, May 1961 STOCK FARI-IIMG IK VEMEZUSLA: ITS STATUS AND PROSPECTS Document prepared by the Joint ECLA/FAO Agriculture Division E/Ci^ ,12/5^0 Page i : . i' CONTENTS PaRe 5 Introduction and 1 Ic Available resoiirces 7 1, Livestock and poialtry population 2. Pasture area and livestock zones 7 12 II, Characteristics of production 17 1. Livestock production 17 (a) Meat production 17 (fa) Production of milk and milk products 23 2. Production trends 26 (a) Meat 26 (b) Milk , 3. Yields and productivity 28 2Ô (a) líate of slaughter (b) Meat yields (c) Milk yields (d) Natality rate' ' (e) Productivity of other factors III. Factors lind.ted production 28 31 33 33 34 35 1. Livestock diseases 35 (a) Infectious and contagious diseases 35 (i) Foot-and-mouth disease (ii) Bang's disease (Brucellosis abortus) (iii) Bovine tuberculosis (b)(iv) Other infectious diseases Parasitic diseases 36 36 36 37 37 (c) Deficiency diseases 40 2. Nutritiona,l deficiencies 41 (a) Pastures and grasses (b) Inadequate pasture management (c) Lack of supplementary feeding 41 42 42 3. Breed improvement U, Defective management 5. Marketing and distribution systems 43 44 45 (a) Livestock and meat marketing (b) Marketing of milk products 45 50 /IV. Consumption E/GN,12/553 Page iv Pages IV, Consumption of and demand for livestock products 53 1. Variations and trends in consumption levels 53 (a) Meat consumption (b) Consumption of milk products 53 5° (c) The effect of relative prices 57 2. Breakdown of consumption by origin 59 (a) Meat 59 (b) itilk products 3. Comparative consvimption and nutritional aims ....... 65 (a) Comparative consumption 65 (b) Nutritional aims 65 4. Pro.iections of demand 67 V, Foreign trade in livestock products 1. 2. 3. 4. 73 Meat imports Imports of milk products Other foods of aninal origin Origin of imports (a) Meat (b) Milk products 73 75 75 75 75 75 5. Import restrictions 77 VI, Livestock development and prospects of expansion 1, Fut\ire livestock expansion 2. Livestock development programmes 79 79 81 /INTRODUCTION M D Page 1 INTRODUCTION M D STOiMARY The present study is merely part of the general survey of stock farming development and conditions in Latin America being carried out jointly by EGLÂ and FAO, Hence, it is not intended to be an exhaustive analysis of Venezuelan stock farming problems but only an exposition of some of the chief factors that have either promoted or retarded the production and distribution of livestock products an recent years. Venezuela's livestock and the supply and donand problems affecting its products have special characteristics which must be taken into account in an economic survey of Latin American stock farming. The subjects covered in the research and analytical work are basically adapted to the aspects and purposes of the general livestock survey. This .explains the emphasis placed on overall assessments and figures. Some aspects have nevertheless been dealt with on a State or regional level. Much of the information was obtained directly from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the Ministry of Development, the Banco Agrícola y Pecuario and other Government bodies. It is also based on personal observations in the field and on a nximber of technical publications concerned with Venezuelan stock farming. Some of the general conclusions and aspects of the study are set out below, Notwithstanding the fact that the domestic supply of food products of animal origin has increased subtantially in recent years, present per capita consumption levels are still ostensibly low, in terms both of reconraiended nutritional standards and of Venezuela's current potential danand trends and volume. Thus, the average annual per capita consumption of red meat was 19 kg in 1956-53 and rose to about 22 kg in 1959, with beef accounting for four fifths of the total. Earlier, it had remained static at an average of 17 kg and had even dropped slightly in the three-year periods 1950-52 and 1953-55, starting to increase from 1956 onwards. Annual ^er capita consumption of milk products, expressed as an aggregate in terms of fluid milk, /climbed from E/CN.12/550 Page 2 climbed from an average of 112 litres in 1951-52 to 135 litres in 1956-58. The main increase was registered in the consumption of pasteurized milk, which rose from an average of 4.6 litres in 1948-50 to 25,5 litres in 1956-58, the increase in the consumption of powdered milk being somewhat smaller. On the other hand, per capita consumption of cheese and butter fell off in the past few years. An analysis of consumer trends shows that they are closely related to price levels. It should be noted at this point that the relative expansion in milk. consuiiç)tion is essentially related to lower real consumer prices. An outstanding feature, well known in the Venezuelan protective food market, is the spectacular upward trend in the demand for these foodstuff. Both population and income have grown at a rate unequalled in any other Latin American country.^ The high purchasing power and considerable elasticity of demand for the livestock products normally consumed in Venezuela tends to compensate for domestic consumption and production deficits through changes in foreign trade trends. For more than ten years Venezuela has suspended meat e^qsorts and has become an importer of meat. It is also the largest buyer of foreign milk products and eggs; for example, imports account for more than half the total consumption of milk products, expressed in terms of fluid milk. In 1956-58, the ^nual value of food imports of animal origin averaged about 156 million bolívares, of which 76,2 per cent was represented by milk products, 23.3 per cent by eggs and less than 1 per cent by meat, poultry and lard. Between 1948-50 and 1956-58, imports of tinned milk increased by 54 per cent, cheese by 150 per cent and eggs by about 200 per cent. In spite of the campaigns to promote stock farming now being conducted and the increases which livestock production may achieve, demand is expected to outstrip The annual population growth rate was extremely high (from 3.5 to 4.35 per cent) between 1950 and 1958, as was the per capita income growth rate which, according to the Central Bank (memoria de.1958) averaged 6 per cent, / /domestic supp3;y. E/CN.12/55Ô Page 3 domestic supply. As a result, imports will have to be resorted to in order to make up fpr inadequate domestic output, at least over the short and medium tem* Venezuela's livestock output is based on an estjjnated animal population of approximately 7 million cattle, 2.4 million pigs, over 1 million sheep and goats and about 12 million poultry. The number of animals other than goats increased between 1950 an^ 1956^ the highest rate for beef cattle being registered in the past five years. Annual production of red meat rose from 76,000 tons in 1947-49 to 119,000 tons in 1956-50 and 141,000 in 1959, a percentage increase of 58 and 85 per cent respectively, most of which has been achieved since 1956. This sharp rise is due not only to the larger number of animals slaughtered, the index for which rose by 6l points between the two periods, but also to the greater carcass meat yield of 2/ slaughtered cattle.-' Fluctuations in per capita meat output were relatively small between 1939-51 and 1953-55 and then remained fairly stable - at about 17 kg - compared with a per capita increase of 6 kg in 1959 over the period 1947-49. Venezuela is one of the few Latin American countries in which the meat -supply has expanded so markedly in the past few years. Brief mention shoal.d perhaps be made of some of the factors which have caused this. In the first place, there is the cattle which has entered Venezuela from Colombia, There is no record of the number of cattle involved, since this traffic is illegal, but there is information indicating that over 100,000 head annually have thus been brought into the country in recent years. The marked increase in the average weight of cattle on the hoof for slaughter and of the carcass meat yield corroborates this estimate. In addition, mention should be made of the favourable effect of a series of measures taken by the ^ An average of 168 kg per animal in 1956-58 compared with 155 kg in 1951-53 and l6l kg in 1954. /Government to E/CN.12/553 Page 4 Government to promote an increase in cattle niunbers and in livestock production. These include frequent large-scale inports of various breeds, an activity in which Venezuela has headed all other Latin American coimtries.^ Health campaigns have also been carried out successfully, as indicated by the lower incidence and morbidity of pathogenous agents, the control of some diseases and the reduction in the death rate, with respect to which comparative figures are given in the relevant section of this report. The expansion of livestock credit is another incentive to production, but its effects will only be felt in future years, in view of the major effort made in 195Ô, unprecedented in the history of the Venezuelan livestock industry^ now being carried out as a supplementary measure to the land reform Act adopted in March I960, ííilk production has also increased substantially, its volume in 1959 being 102 per cent higher than in 1950, Production in the last two years covered in this report averaged about 400 million litres a year, of which 45 per cent was used for direct consumption, a little over 20 per cent for the manufacture of cheese, and the remaining 33 per cent for butter and powdered milk. The rise in the production of butter, powdered milk and pasteurized milk was particularly steep, especially for pasteurized milk, which rose from an average of 18 million litres in 1948-49 to 126 million in 1956-58 and 149 million in 1959. It should be noted that these increments resulted partly from the fact that less milk is used for cheese and butter, much of which is manufactured from imported cream. The policy of subsidies to producers through pasteurization and processing plants and that of low prices to stimulate consumption are factors which have contributed to the expansion of the milk industry in Venezuela, Technological advances in dairy farming have also been of significance. 2/ A total of 1 7 , 6 3 3 cattle of different breeds xvas imported between 1945 and 1953, a figure which has increased considerably since then. ij By Decree No. 58 of 22 February 1958, a loan of 660.5 million bolívares for a five-year livestock development plan was authorized. /As in E/CN.12/55Ô Page 5 As in all tropical countries, but perhaps more so in Venezuela than in others, livestock productivity and yield are low, particularly •with respect to meat. The reason for this is the extensive system of stock farming and fattening, often practised by primitive methods on natural pastiires of little and often temporary nutritional value, and the predominance of the criollofcrreedswhich are traditionally very loxi in yield. The rate of slaughter - 7.15 per cent of the livestock population, excluding in situ slaughter - is one of the lowest in latin America, The live weight of beef cattle slaughtered averages only 340 kg per mature animal, with a carcass meat yield of less than half that figure. These two factors are responsible for the extremely low meat yield per head of cattle, which in 1956 was estimated at 13 kg compared with 4Ô kg in Argentina, 36 kg in Uruguay, 20 kg in Paraguay and figures which are twice as high as those for Venezuela in many other Latin American coimtries. The average output of milk per cow is low - 2 to 3 litres daily In herds of criollo or mestizo cattle with only a small percentage of improved blood - and the milking period is short. High-grade cows used on some dairy farms produce as much as 10 litres and even more of milk daily per head, but there are only very few such intensive farms. The breeding efficiency rate barely averages 40 per cent'^ half the rate achieved in properly organized breeding farms, and is the result of a low birth-rate and high mortality among young animals. The productivity of capital and labour engaged in livestock production is low, particularly for small farms lacking in advanced. techniques and for some extensive breeding activities, where marginal yields barely cover the cost of these factors and may even be negative, as is the case for marginal productivity of land in some areas. Thus, the low investment jrleld hampers attempts to improve production and to introduce advanced techniques. Hatio of calves weaned to nianber of breeding cows available, /The reasons E/CN.12/55Ô Page 6 The reasons for the low productivity and yield of Venezuelan stock fanning may be sunimed up as follows: (a) low carrying capacity of the pastures - 2 to 4 hectares per animal - as a result of poor management and the fact that 80 per cent of the grazing area consists of natural pasture; (b) predominance of indigenous breeds of cattle which, while offering the advantage of adaptability to tropical conditions, have a low breeding efficiency fate; (c) incidence of cattle diseases and epidemics, causing high mortality and heavy financial losses; (d) low level of technique and primitive methods in the handling ^ d management of livestock farms and ranches; (E) difficulties and shortcomings in the marketing, processing and distribution of livestock products. As for the State-by-State breakdown of livestock distribution and type of activity, most of the pasture area is usually used for the raising of beef cattle, which constitute the majority of the livestock population. This activity - called the grass-feeding of livestock - is carried on mostly in the States of Anzoâtegui, Apure, Barinas, Bolívar, Cojedes, Guârico, Monagas-Amacuro and Portuguesa, which accotint for approximately 70 per cent of the cattle popiilation and perhaps over 80 per cent of the total stock farming area, TOiile meat production is its main purpose, cheese production is often a secondary, though relatively important, activity. Stock farming is the only activity in the "pasture area" and is often practised by the very extensive "open range" method because the low quality of the pasture is not conducive to fattening. Herds tend to be large, since some 33 to 46 per cent of the farms have 1,000 to 5,000 or more head of cattle, as for instance in Apure, Zulia and Lara, in the north-eastern part of the coxintry, are the chief dairy cattle areas, followed by Carabobo, Aragua, Miranda and the Federal District in central Venezuela. This region represents about 11 per cent of the total livestock area and 17 per cent of the cattle population. Intensive farming is practised here on a large scale, mostly on farms with good artificial pasture, supplementary feed, special dairy-cattle breeds or mestizo cattle with a high percentage of improved blood, and proper management. Herds tend to be rather small, four-fifths of the dairy farms having less than 100 head of cattle each, /Fattening, as E/CN,12/558 Page 7 Fattening, as yet not properly ©i-ganized in Venezuela, is concentrated mostly in the States of Aragua, Miranda and Falcon, but is combined with breeding and even dairy activities on mixed farms in other States, Mixed stock farming is also practised in the States of Mêrida, Táchira^ Trujillo and others. In short, Venezuela has areas and regions suitable not only for all branches of the beef cattle industry but also for raising sheep and goats on a much larger scale. The country's livestock potential is being developed and long-term production prospects seem good, judging from the trend over the past few years snd from the strong encouragement given to livestock development by the Government, I, AVAILABLE RESOURCES 1, Livestock and poultry population As in other Latin American countries, an inventory of livestock is taken at very infrequent intervals, the last one having been carried out in 1950, Adequate data are therefore lacking on the livestock population in recent years and even more so on its present breakdown by race, sex, grade, age and geographical distribution. To overcome these shortcomings, at least in part, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock has undertaken sample estimates and surveys, with special ençjhasis on cattle in view of its economic and numerical preponderance, Venezuela would seem to have over 7 million head of cattle (or slightly more than one animal per inhabitant), 2,4 million pigs, a little over 1 million sheep and goats^ and about the same number of horses, and about 12 million poultry (see table l). Although no data are available for estimating the annual livestock growth rate, it can be stated that the cattle population has increased at an annual rjite of only some 2 per cent between 1937 and 1950, according to figures available from the respective censuses taken,'^'^ ^ If so, the The goat popiilation declined by 14 per cent betxireen 1950 and 1956, if According to the Ministry of Agriculture, La industria ganadera de carne en Venezuela (Caracas, 195S), the cattle population amounted to 4,305,505 head in 1937 and to 5,673,797 in 1950, /Table 10 E/CIvTa2/55â P.; 8 ase Table 1 VFNSZUEU: ESTIItóTED LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY POPULATION, 1950 TO 1956 (Thousands of hsad) 1950 1956 I Cattle 5 769 7 162 Pigs 1 2 3 6 2 Sheep h ^ k 176 1 0 1 2 6 8 9 2 1 3M+ 533 Mules 6 2 1 3 0 Asses 387 CrC»tS Horses Poultry 1 Í+27 10 368 a / 1 1 7 0 0 Source; 1550 census figures, 155? edition. The I956 figures are token from the Ministry of Agriculture, Crop and Llvestook Planning Department, Encuesta agropecuaria mclorial (Katloral Crop and Livestock Survey. September 1557. a/ Chickens and pullets, cooks and hens, ducks and turkeys. /cattle population E/CN,12/5 53 Page 9 catt3,e population is expanding at a much slower pace than ihe human population, particularly in areas where beef cattle is raised. This fact, together with the low productivity of livestock - in terms of animals selected for slaughter - has produced an acute imbalance in the meat supply vis-a-vis growing consmer requirements. Between 1950 and 1956, the cattle population grew from 5.77 million head, according to the census, to 7,2 million, a figure based on the sampling surveyj this is equivalent to an increase of approximately 26 per cent in six years, or an average annual rise of 4 per cent, which is virtually twice the rate recorded in the earlier period, A relative growth of this magnitude, such as has taken place in Venezuela during the past few years, can only be achieved in an expanding livestock industry. Its main results are apparent in the substantial incrsnents in the production of meat and m i l k , ^ With regard to the di-<àsion of the cattle population by sex, the 1956 crop and livestock survey showed that, in round figures, 68 per cent were females and 32 per cent males. Breeding-cows - females over two years of age - constituted 46 per cent of the cattle population, a rather encouraging proportion from the point of view of reproduction» Although the breakdom of the cattle population by activities d\jring the past few years is not known, it may be assumed to be more or less similar to that determined by the sampling carried out in every State in 1954. Applying this percentage distribution to the estimated cattle population in 1956, the classification set out in table 2 was obtained. The proportion of breeding-cows (48,6 per cent) is c3.early higher among dairy cattle than on mixed or stock-raising farms. As a result, the percentage of calves and heifers less than one year of age is also higher among dairy cattle, A comparison of the number of breeding-cov/s with the number of unweaned calves and heifers ^ The increase in the cattle population and more particularly in meat production can be attributed in pr.rt to clandestine e:^orts cf Colombian cattle to Venezuela, It is eatimated that 1 2 0 , 0 0 0 head of cattle were thus brought into the country in 1958, /Table 2 E/CM.12/55Ô Page 10 Table 2 VENEZUELA: SSTIMATED BRiSâKDOWN OP CÁTTLE POPUUTION ACTIVITY, 1956 Beef cattle farms a/ BY LIVESTOCK Dairy cattle Mixed livestock 0 / ^ Parctntago Percent— age Thousands of head Poroentage Thousands of head 2 8 6 45.6 592 U8.6 405 ^3.5 Yearling calves and heifers e/ 878 17.5 2^2 1 9 . 8 178 19.1 Young bulls and steers f/ 525 10.5 1 1 8 1 0 9 11.7 Heifers 6 2 8 12,5 II45 1 1 . 9 lt4 ll 15.5 Steers and bulls h/ 561+ 11.3 105 8 . 6 76 8 . 2 Stud bulls 1 3 2 1.3 19 2.0 Livestock Breeding sows d/ Total Thousands of head 2 i 01? 2.6 100.0 1 6 1 2 1 8 9.7 100.0 100.0 Source: l& Industrie. G a f a r a da carne en Venezuela, 1958, tables V~2 and B-8, and 1956 Crop and Livestock Survey» a/ b/ 2/ ¿/ e/ Anzo^tagul, Apura, Barlms, Bolivar, Cojedes, Gi^rioo> Moragas^Amaouro and Portuguesa, Aragm, Carabobo, Lara, Miranda and Zulla, Federal DistrlBt,Palo(Sh, Mirida, Nueva Esparta, Sucre, Táohlra, Trujillo, Yaraonjr and Amazonas, Including heifers over 2 years of age, Stee.'s and heifers up to 1 year of age, f/ Males between 1 and 2 years of age. ^ Heifers between 1 and 2 years of age, h/ Males over 2 years of age» /indicates that E/CNa2/55õ Pags 11 jrdicates that the efficiency rate of reproduction is very Icvr in the three types of cattle farming, amounting to only 3Ô, 41 and 42 per cent in beef cattle farms, dairy farms and mixed farms respectively. The. lov/ birth rate and high mortality rate in young animals, as will be seen later, is responsible for the poor efficiency. a higher proportion of males Mixed farms have and females one to two years of age, because cattle-rearing^ is often not practised in breeding-farms and heifers are generally reared only on dairy-farms. Cattle-rearing is at times a specialized activity which is included here in the mixed group. The low percentage of steers (usually 10 per cent) indicates that the rate of slaughter and the annual production of cattle for slaughter are also loxi, since most of the cattle slaughtered consists of steers over 3 years of age. The proportion of steers is a little higher among beef cattle, although these include young steers not yet ready for slaughter. VJhile no completely specialized cattle production is to be found, either for meat or type of cattle produced» States can be grouped according to the main Thus for instance, it is estimated that at least 70 per cent of the cattle population is concentrated in the States of Anzoâtegui, Apure, Barinas, Bolívar, Cojedes, Guârico, Monagas-Amacuro and Portuguesa, where the chief activity is the breeding of beef cattle. The States of Aragua, Garabobo, Lara, Miranda and Zulia account for 17 per cent of the animal population, chiefly dairy cattle, except for Aragua and Miranda where fattening is also practised» The remainder of the cattle population (13 per cent) is apparently divided among the Federal District, the States of Falcon, Mêrida, Kueva Esparta, Sucre, Tachira, Trujillo and Yaracuy, and the Territory of Amazonas, which are chiefly engaged in mixed stock farming. Raising of. young bulls and steers or calves and heifers of 1 to 2 years of ege, 10/ Most farms breed beef cattle or practise mixed stock farming, there being relatively few farms specializing in milk production* /The chief Page 12 The chief livestcck States are Apure, xcLth nearly one fifth of the total cattle population, Guârico and Zulia^ with nearly one fourth,, and Bolivar, Barinas and Anzoâtegui, with about one million head of cattle eacho These six States seem to account for tíío thirds of the cattle population, the remaining one third being divided among the rest of thf3 country, v By using the conversion or equivalence factors mentioned in table the total livestock popxilation is reduced to standard units, expressed in terms of cattle. ^^ Thus, the total amoxints to some 0,4 million head, 2. Pasture area and livestock zones A comparison of the pasture area, as given in the 1950 inventory and the 1956 survey, shows that it rose from 13.8 million hectares in 1950 to 17.Ô million in 1956, an increase of 13 per cent (see table 4)e Relatively speaking, the most important change occurred in artificia], pastures, which rose from 12 per cent of the total area in 1950 to 15 per cent in 1956, In spite of this favourable change, however, the proportion of natural pasture is still very high and this is reflected in the low carrying capacity usually found in most breeding areas i^ere extensive grazing methods are practised, where from 2 to 4 hectares of grassland are required per head of cattle. In dairy farming areas where less extensive methods are used, the proportion of artificial pasture and its carrying capacity are much higher, as for instance in the States of Zulia, Lara, Aragua, Carabobo, Miranda, Falcôn, Tâchira, Trujillo and Yaracuy, where the average ratio of cattle to area is one head of cattle to one unit of area^ It should be noted, however, that this more favourable ratio must be attributed not only to the better quality of the grasslands but also to more efficient ranch management and, in general, to better animal feeding methods. For the country as a whole, the proportion of the total area under grass is 2,5 hectares per head of cattle. forage However, the actual area cannot be determined unless the natural and artificial grasslands are converted to standard units. Assuming that, as a rx£Le, /Table 3 ^ Page 13 Tabla ? VENEZÜEL.1: LIVESTOCK FOPUUVi'ION 7 162 2 362 Cattle Pigs Goats Horses Thousands of standard units 1 . 0 0 0 7 a/ 1 6 2 1 8 9 0 . 2 0 0 176 91 2 Sheep I956 Equivalence Thousands of simple units Livestock I N STHIIDARD U N I T S , 35 0 . 2 0 0 015 .2 1 1 5 53 3 1 . 2 0 0 6 3 9 Kules 1 3 0 1 . 2 0 0 156 Asses 427 033 .3 11 ^2 Standard ralts 8 438 ay Conversion of only > 0 per cent of the livostook population, corresponding to 4 the proportion in ¡pastura» Table 1 + raEZUELA: AREA USED POR LIVESTOCK, I950 AND 1556 Thousands of haotares Artificial pasture Natural pasture Total Percentage Thousands of hectares 12.0 2 6l 0| 12 164 88.0 1 15 5 6 1 61 3 24 100„0 If 769 Peroen> tags 1 66o 8. 53 100.0 Source; I950 crop and livestock inventory and I956 crop and livestock survey. / l h e c t a 2 ? e E/CN«12/55Ô Page LV 1 ?iectare of artificiai pasture has a carrying capacity 2.5 times greater than the perennial and seasonal natural grasslands combined, the total íor.-^ge area would be 4.34 million hectares of grassland in terms of top-grade artificial pasture. Thus, the existing ratio between staaiaiiXl livestock units and units of area imder grass having been established, total livestock density would be le9 iiead of cattle per hectare, equivalent to 0,51 hectare per standard livestock unit (see table 5). The most important area form the point of view of the concentration of livestock and volume of meat production is the so-called "grazing area" in which cattle-raising is the chief activity. Milk production plays a secondary role and the milk is used mainly for manufacturing cheese. In addition, it is the largest livestock area'^^^ where the "open range" type of extensive farming is practised on natural grasslands of little nutritional value, very often of the seasonal type, technologically under-developed in respect of disease control, breed improvement and management. These shortcomings are primarily related to the large size of the farms and, in some cases, to the extensive farming methods used. In the States of Apure, Barinas, Bolivar, Cojedes and Monagas, for instan.ce, from 33 to 46 per cent of the cattle are on farms which have herds of from 1,CX)1 to 5,000 head each. In Apure, 20 per cent of the cattle is on even larger farms. As will be seen later, the livestock yields of the grazing area are rather lov;^ The other important livestock zone is the dairy farming region, v;ith 11 per cent of the livestock area and 1? per cent of the cattle population in the five major dairy fanning States,^^ Here the quality of the soil, the grassland and the cattle is higher and the level of technique more advanced» Zulia and Lara are the chief milk-producing 13/ States, the former chiefly because of favourable natural conditions-^ and the latter mainly because of inproved breeding and farm management. 11/ Slightly over 80 per cent of the total livestock area, according to the 1950 inventory. 12/ Aragua, Carabobo, Lara, Miranda and Zulia, 12/ Good soil quality, abundant rainfall and good pasture, /Table 5 E/CN.12/55Ô Page 15 Table 5 VENEZOELAS PASTURE ABEA AMD LIVESTOCK D S N S m , I556 Thousands of hectares Livestock area miiioBs of standard units 112á2 Artificial pasture 2 Natural pasture 15 165 8 kQ 3 Population In standard imits Density (head per hectare) Hectares per head Pasture area 2.1 1J2S ^ Artificial pasture 1 Natural pasture 3 033 Population In standard units 3 0 2 8 438 ^ Livestock population per hectare of pasture Hectares per head 0,51 Source; Tables 3 and 4-. e/ Hi terms of beef cattle, including light cattle. ^ In terns of top-grade permanent artificial pasture and on the basis of the following prelimlnaiy equivalences: O.5OO for artificial pasture of either category and 0.200 for perennial and seasonal natural pasture.'' /Next in E/CN„J2/55Ô Page 16 Next in importance is the dairy farming area in the central zone of the country, formed by the States of Carabobo, Aragua and Miranda, The special conditions prevailing in the "dairy farming zone" and the smaller size of the farms naturally permit the use of more intensive farming methods. Thus, for instance, in Carabobo and Aragua 88 per cent and 91 per cent of the stock farms, respectively, owned less than 100 head of cattle each in 1952, according to data obtained during the foot-and-mouth disease canpaign undertaken by the làvstock Department, Fattening is mainly carried out in Aragua, Miranda and Falcán although rearing and fattening are also combined in other States such as Anzoâtegui, Bolivar, Guârico, Monagas-Amacuro, Portuguesa and Tâchirae /II. CHARACTERISTICS Page 1? II. CHAiLílCTERISTICS OF PRODUCTION 1, Livestock production (a) Meat production Table 6 shows that the slaughter of livestock increased virtually without interruption between 1946 and 1958. The slaughter of beef cattlè rose to an annual average of 575,000 head in 1956-58 and to 673,000 head in 1959, sn increase of 6Í and 81 per cent respectively over 1947-49 when 357,000 head of cattle were slaughtered. rates have been recorded since 1956. The highest The annual average number of pigs slaughtered in 1956-58 was 535,000, â 56 per cent more than in the base three-year period. The sharpest rise in the slaughter of pigs was registered in the last two years of the period under review. The slaughter of beef cattle and goats was 91 and 103 per cent higher in 1956-58, but declined sharply in 1959. The estimated number of poultry killed in 1959 was slightly over ten times the 1950 figure. As a result of the increase in the number of animals slaughtered, the total production of meat rose from 78,000 tons in 1947-49 to an annual average of 129,000 tons in 1956-58 and 158,000 tons in 1 9 5 9 , ^ which is equivalent to an annual average increase of 67 per cent in the three-year period 1956-58 and of 204 per cent in 1959. Production by species is as follows: Cattle Pigs Sheep Goats Poultry 1947-49 78.4 18„2 0,5 0,9 1,9 1950-52 78.5 17.7 0.4 0,5 1953-55 75.2 17.6 0.4 0,7 6,1 1956-58 75.0 16,5 0.4 0,8 7,3 1959 73.6 15,5 0.3 0,5 10,1 • • 2.8 Some changes in the breakdown of production by species may be noted. Beef cattle, although output has declined, is still the biggest item, accounting for some three-iourths of the total and four-fifths of the red meat total. 14/ Pork is next, with about 18 per cent of the total volume. Provisional figure, /Table 6 E/CM fóge IB Table 6 S TOKEZUELAi U O f H m OP LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY BY s m U E S , (Reglstared slaughter, thouaands of head) Cattle Poultry Goats Sheep Pigs Kumbei' Index Index Number Index Number Index 311.7 90.6 22.9 99.6 43,1 91.3 100.1 293.2 85.2 24.1 104.8 51.0 108.0 3I15.0 56.7 344.0 100.0 19^0 82.6 28.5 60.4 19Í49 367.8 103.1 394.9 114.8 26,0 113.0 62.2 131.8 19:47-49 356.6 100,0 344.0 100,0 23.0 100.0 47a2 100.0 1950 U05.é 113.7 403.4 117.3 30«3 131.7 64.8 137.3 1 520 100.0 1951 hkj.é 124.4 374.3 106.8 26.0 113.0 50.é 107.2 2 080 136.8 1552 128.8 395.7 115.0 45.1 196.1 49.7 105.3 3 920 258.0 Number Index Nufflber 19ÍÍ6 363.0 101.8 1911.7 356.8 19148 ... .. . ... - .. . - » 1S5C»52 436.2 122.3 391.2 113.7 33.8 146.9 55£ 116.5 2 510 165.1 1953 U83.7 135.6 433.2 125.9 42.6 185.2 54.6 115.7 5 200 342.1 1954 474.0 132.9 478.3 139.0 41.0 178.2 63.8 135.2 6 880 452.6 1955 495.0 138.8 444.8 129.3 38.9 169.1 89.7 190.0 6 9éo 457.9 1953-55 484.2 135.6 452,1 131.4 40.8 177.5 69.3 146.8 6 346 418.8 1956 508,3 142.5 468.4 136.1 38,.7 168.3 91.1 193.0 7 680 505.3 1957 571.0 160.1 555.1 161.4 47.0 204.3 101.6 215.2 9 120 600.0 1958 6U5.0 180.9 582.2 169.2 46,. 5 202.1 94.5 200.2 11 360 747.4 1955-58 574.7 161.2 535.2 155.6 44.0 191.3 96.0 203.4 9 387 6I7C6 1959 672.9 188.7 620.3 180.3 27.5 119.6 75.2 159.3 16 080 1 058.0 Souraes Ministry of Agriculture, Crop and Livestock Planning Department, Eeonomlo Research Division, Anuario Estadfstloo. and Msnorta de I559 of the Central Banlc of Venezuela, /Table 7 E/CN.12/558 19 Tabla 7 VH-JSZUEUJ PR03ÜCTI0N O ? Í E D HiAT i Á M POULTRY, 13Í4-7-14-5 TO I553 {Thouaands of tons) Year Cattle Pigs Total Sheep Goats Poultty 0.77 1.50a/' 77.W lOOgP 0 . 5 2 90.1 116,2 I9U7-49 6 0 . 8 Ik.l 0.37 1950 7 0 . 8 17.0 0 . 1 + 2 1951 70.7 1352 71,k . 0.46 Ihanber Index 0.44 2o08 8 9 . 1 115^0 15.5 0.42 0 . 5 2 3 . 9 2 91.7 118.3 16--0 ¿352:52 0.40 0.41 0 . 4 7 2.51 90,4 116,6 1953 76.2 18.7 0.39 0.64 5<.20 1 0 1 . 1 150.4 195¡+ 77.7 18.6 0.47 0 . 6 6 6.88 1O4,3 134.6 1955 8 2 . 2 18.0 0.57 0 . 8 6 6 . 9 6 1 0 8 . 6 l4o=l 1953» 5S IM. IS.U 0.48 9.72 Ú.33 104p6 1956 8 5 . 0 16.8 0.57 0.93 7.68 1 1 3 . 0 1 4 5 . 0 1957 95.5 21.4 0 . 5 0 1 . 1 0 9.12 1 2 7 . 7 164.8 1959 110,3 2 3 . 6 0 . 4 7 0,94 146.1 168.5 iáil 2 1 . 3 0 . 5 1 1 2 9 . 1 16,<.6 1 5 8 . 0 2 0 3 , 9 I95é-Ç8 2k.5 1959 Sowaes . o,4o 0.84 1 1 . 3 6 1 6 . 0 8 Ministry of Agriculture, Crop and Livestock Planning Department for tha base period and meaiorlada 1959 oí the Central Bank of Venezuela for the other years. a/ Plgaras subject to revision. /follewed by E/GNa2/55Ô Page 20 followed by goat meat and mutton, the relative percentage of - r i c has vàih also declined and amounts to a combined total of only about 1 per cent» The production of poultry meat has climbed steeply over the past few years. Actual meat production for the three smaller species of livestock is much greater because a considerable portion of the total slaughtered is not officially registered. While in situ slaughter of beef cattle is also common, it is not believed to exceed 10 per cent of the nimber sent to the abattoirs, A study of changes in per capita meat production during the past twenty years shows that output has risen sharply only since 1956. In fact, the average annual per capita production was 19.4 kg in 1956-50, an increment of 3.2 kg over the three-year period 1947-49. Stated in index figures, this corresponds to a rise in per capita output of 20 per cent conçjared with the base three-year period,'^^^ As may be seen from table 8, the rate of per capita production rose only slightly (from 16,0 to 16.9 kg) between 1939-41 and 1953-55. Venezuela is one of the few countries which in recent years has achieved so substantial a relative growth in the output of livestock for slaughter, as opposed to the decline in per capita consumption registered in many Latin American countries. The following are some of the factors which were responsible for this improvement: (i) Livestock imports, Venezuela has led all other Latin American countries in livestock imports, at least during the past fifteen years. With respect to beef cattle, for instance, total imports of specimens for breed inçjrovement amounted to 7,S23 head between 1945 and 1953, four-fifths of which were females. Of all these inports 93 per cent were represented by Zebu cattle, either pure or mestizo. In subsequent years, imports of beef cattle breeds were stepped up, 9,443 head of Zebu cattle being imported in 1958.-^ It need hardly be said that results of these imports were very favourable, not only as a means of 15/ Per capita production in 1958 expanded only by an additional 5 kg compared with the figure for 1947-49. iá/ Mgnoria y Cuenta del Ministro de Agricultura y Cría al Congreso Nacional. 1959, volume I. /Table 8 E/CN.I2/55Ô Page 21 Table 8 VENEZUELA: PER C>iPIT¿ RED M&iT PRODUCTION, I535-I+I TO I959 (Annual averaf^es) Period Kg capita Index 1939-^1 1 6 . 0 9 8 . 0 1 5 U 5 - i 4 é l é . 8 1 0 3 . 7 1 9 ^ 7 - 4 9 1 6 . 2 1 0 0 . 0 1 9 5 0 - 5 2 1 6 . 8 1 0 3 . 7 1 9 5 3 - 5 5 1 6 . 9 l o i t . 3 1 9 5 6 - 5 8 1 9 . ' + 1 1 9 . 8 1 9 5 9 2 1 . 8 1 3 ' + . é Source; As for table 7. /promoting livestock E/CN.12/55Ô Page 22 promoting livestock development but also as a method of speeding up the production of early-maturing livestock and animals with a higher meat yield, (ii) Livestock crsdit. The credit "facilities recently granted by the Government will undoubtedly have a decisive effect in promoting livestock development. Credit for the livestock industry has not only been more flexible and popular in the past few years but has increased considerably in volume, particularly through the Banco Ap:rícola y Pecuario, Particular iirçjortance should be attached to Decree Wo, $8 of 22 February 195B, which established a five-year livestock promotion plan involving a total investment of 660,5 million bolívares for the development of 17/ 2,500 stock farms,—' mainly in the form of grassland ijnprovement, imports of improved specimens, construction of fences and provision of water supplies. and pork. This plan is intended to expedite output of beef For the first time emp^^asis is placed, under this credit- backed livestock development plan, on the channelling and supervision of investment, the capacity of the applicants for hard work and the possibilities of the farms to pay. The fact that the tecnnical and financial direction of plan has been entrusted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and the Bank of Agriculture, respectively, augurs vjell for the future. This marked credit e^qsansion, coupled with recent legislation on land reform, will act as a strong incentive to livestock production and related activities, (iii) Health control» While diseases still take a heavy toll of livestock, the veterinary services of the National Livestock Department have intensified their activities in recent years, particularly in order to improve and accelerate campaigns against foot-and-mouth disease, 17/ The development plan for beef cattle and pigs covers the whole country which, for this purpose, is divided jjito 2k livestock units, as follows: 1 2 3 4 5 6 Coro 7 Arismendi Churuguara 8 Guanare Barquisimeto 9 San Carlos San Critôbal 10 Elorza Guardualito 11 San Fernando Barinas 12 Calabozo 13 14 15 16 17 1Ô Valle de Pascua Zaraza Barcelona Aragua de Barcelona Pariaguán Caiçara de Orinoco 19 20 21 22 23 24 Ciudad Bolívar Maturín Barrancas Upata Maracaibo Caracas /epizootic abortion . E/CN.12/55Ô Page 23 epizootic abortion and other ailments which are responsibility not only for high mortality but also for considerable decreases in animal .production. With respect to the foot-and-mouth disease campaign, for example, mass vaccinations in 195Ô resulted in a sharp drop in the incidence of the disease, only 39 outbreaks being registered in 195Ô as against 103 in 1957. (b) Production of milk and milk products Total milk production in Venezuela amounts to some 400,000 tons, broken dovm approximately as follows: Percentage Pasteurized milk 37 Raw milk 8 Cheese 22 Butter 18 Powdered milk 15 This means that virtually half the output is consumed in the form of fluid milk, slightly over half being used for the manufacture of cheese, butter and powdered milk (see table 9), While complete information is not available for the years covered in table 9, it v/ill nevertheless be seen that total .production doubled between 1950 and 1959. This is equivalent to an average annual increase of 8 per cent, which is much higher than the population growth rate. Dairy cattle production has also risen substantially; the annual average for pasteurised milk climbed from some 18 million litres in 1948-49 to 126 million litres in 1956-58, a rise of 600 per cent. During the same period, the manufacture of powdered milk and butter expanded by 171 per cent and 86 per cent respectively. Cheese output, which hitherto was the main activity, declined both in absolute and relative terms, its volume dropping from 15,000 tons to 14,000 tons between 1950-52 and 1956-57. In 1950, more than half the total output of milk was used for the manufacture of cheese as against only one-third in recent years. ./Table 9 E/GN.12/558 i ^ g e 24 Table 9 R D CI N P VENEZUEU: ESTIMATED P O U TO O lULK AÍ© MILK PRODUCTS,1948-59 Raw Year Pasteurized Tons Powder Total (thousands of litres) • •• Butter Thousands of litres 19U8 23 420 15 727 1 651 1 721 19»t9 24 140 19 646 1 986 1 663 1948-49 23 7 8 0 17687 1 818 1 792 1950 24 8 6 9 2 5 565 1 536 1 5 6 0 1951 2 5 623 35 847 1 737 1 318 1 9 5 2 2 6 3 9 9 54 5 0 2 2 458 1 3 0 1 399 3 8 6 3 8 1953 27 199 7 0 7 0 8 1954 2 6 0 2 3 84 476 1955 2 8 8 9 0 9 6 l?53-55 2 8 o4o 1956 2 9 1957 Cheese 1950-52 L 2 E 1 393 .. . • •• ... • •• 074 1 9 8 434 14 447 2 1 7 3 0 1 1 5 253 227 1 3 8 3 0 14 450 522 1 5 990 3 750 1 992 1 6 1 6 0 5 8 3 3 787 2 649 16 200 338 356 8 3 7 0 7 3 639 2 16 117 311 0 9 8 765 1 1 1 9 2 6 4 2 244 15 3 4 1 6 9 7 3 0 6 7 0 1 2 7 1 1 4 4 i!87 12 560 344 1 3 0 1 9 5 8 3 1 6oo 1 3 9 264 14 200 . 397 2 3 2 1956-58 3 0 675 126 101 4 531 2 14 015 3 6 1 0 2 0 1559 32 545 148 959 7 360 3 599 1 1 4oo 3 0 2 3 6 3 8 0 1 0 1 256 1 2 0 5 4 498 3 136 626 2 8 8 0 0 0 2 8 3 311 313 6 2 6 Souree; Raw milk: computed on the basis of per capita consumption of 5 litres, aoaordin^ to La Industria ganadera en Venezuela (PAO/EPTA, N® ÍÍOé, 1955); pisteurized and powdarer milk: Department of Statistics; butter and cheese: Crop and Livestock Planning Department (Ministry of Agrioulturo) and Memoria of the Central Bank of Vaiezuela. Total milk production was computed on the basis of the following conversion factors: powdered milk, 8.0; birtter, 20.0 and cheese 8.0. a/ Por direct consumption. b/ Including imported butter. However, Its fluid milk equivalent is not Included in the totc.1 milk production, c/ In terms of fluid milk. /Mention shoul4 E/CN.12/55Ô Page 25 Mention should also be made here of the factors and measures which have promoted and continue to promote the production of milk and milk products. First, there is the policy of granting subsidies for milk produced for pasteurization,^ introduced in 1948 by the fiinistry of Development, Although Venezuela is a large-scale importer of dairy products, a protectionist policy has partly curtailed competition from foreign milk producers whose prices have been loifer than those of domestically-produced milk, import duties and the quota systemn^ applied to powdered milk have indeed raised domestic prices for these staple foodstuffs but, had this not been done, milk production would have stagnated. The rate of duty imposed has not proved completely effective, since foreign competition is still active, as may be seen from the fact that the fluid milk equivalent of imported products is greater than the total volume of production. There is lao doubt that, in so far as milk products are concerned, the trade treaty with the United States has left the door open to foreign competition. The size of the quota restricts domestic production of pov/dered milk to some degree, and imports under the quota system are e::empt from import duties, a fact which is reflected in a tendency for retail prices to riser-^^ Gener.ally sneaking, there are no customs restrictions in Venezuela, quantitative or otherwise, which can be considered to offer any strong protection to domestic production, National production of processed milk and butter has been very much encouraged since 195Ô by the extension - authorized in that period of the subsidies to milk used for the manufacture of these products,-^^ 18/ The subsidy amounts to 0,15 céntimos per litre of pasteurized milk sold, 19/ Nominal purchase by importers of one unit of domestic production per four imported units, 20/ The importer raises the price of imported milk in order to compensate for losses arising out of his having to pay more for the domestic product than the fixed wholesale price, 21/ From 1957 to 1959, milk produced for the manufacture of butter increased, in round figures, from 50,000 to 72,000 litres , and milk for sale in tins from 36,000 to 59,000 litres. (Memoria of the Central Bank of Venezuela for 1959, table 3-16). /The inportation E/CN,12/558 Page 26 The importation of improved specimens of specialized breeds is another factor which has contributed to the development of milk production during the past ten or fifteen years. Table 10 shows that the main breed of cattle imported was the Holstein, followed by the Brown Swiss and Jersey, Most of the animals were cov/s, as indicated in the table. Average annual imports amounted to 1,090 head in 1945-53* compared with 1,525 in 1958. In addition, milk production was also accelerated by the ííinistry of Agriculture's health cançiaigns against epizootic abor'tion, bovine tuberculosis and foot-and-mouth disease. These campaigns have been intensified in recent years, as have artificial insemination services and the registration of output, 2. Production trends (a) Meat Figure I shows meat production developments in Venezuela during the past 20 years and indicates the annual changes - in index figures - that have taken place, and the historical trends of production and of population grov/th. It is obvious that, except for a few years, production has risen steadily, albeit at an uneven rate which was particularly high during the past few years, the major increments bedng recorded in the periods 1944-46, 1949-50 and 1954-58,-^ Another important fact is that meat output has been expanding more rapidly than the population and that, as a result, per capita production has risen. Thus, between 1939 and 1952 the production of red meat grew at an annual compound rate of 3.8 per cent, whereas the rate for the population was 3.0 per cent, I'Jhile the population growth rate was higher between 1953 and 1958, meat output climbed to the appreciably high figure of 8.8 per cent, largely because of the increments in 1957 and 1958,-^ In 1957, the rate of slaughter for the four main 22/ The higher rate of production during the past few years is apparently attributable in part to the effect of clandestine exports of Colombian cattle, 23/ The slaughter of cattle and pigs continued to increase in 1959, as a result of which total output of red meat rose to 142,000 tons, /Table 10 E/CN.12/55Ô Page 27 Table 10 VENEZUELA! IMPORTS OP HIGH-GRADE CATTLE, AW) 1958 (Pnlts) 1958 ISliS-SS Imported breeds Bulls Cows Total Bulls Holsteln 307 5 61+5- 5 952 29 Brown swiss k^O 1 Iwo 1 630 201 Jersey 237 1626 1 865 kd k Others 22 996 141 8 8lU 163 2^810 5 86 150 Total Cows 1 061t 2k 1, Total 1 093 28 155 1 52? Sour get La Industria ganadera en Venezuela, op. clt.. Ministry of Agrlciilture publication, 1958, and Meftorla y Cuenta del Ministro de Agricultura y Cría sobre el año 1958Í volume /species of E/CN.12/55Ô Page 28 species of livestock v/as high, and in 1958 the rise in production was due to the greater number of beef cattle slaughtered and the higher yield of carcass meat per animal. Thus, not only total but also .per capita production of meat has increased, substantially, raising the per capita conairaption rate, (b) • • Milk Milk output has also increased noticeably and steadily during the past ten years, particularly in 1952 and 1958, for the reasons stated earlier, although there was a slight falling-off in the three-year period 1955-57» As shown by the indices in table 11, the rate of production rose more rapidly for milk than for meat, milk output in 1958 being 73 per cent higher than in 1950, compared m t h an increase of about 52 per cent in meat production, 3, Yields and productivity The information available is not sufficient for a thorough analysis of the intensity of utilization of the various factors involved in livestock production, or of their yields or physical productivity. This is particularly true of capital and labour, in respect of which producers generally keep only a few haphazard records. At all events, certain data justify the statement that livestock productivity is exceptionally low, expecially on farms where extensive methods are practised. Moreover, this weakness is one which affects the livestock economy in almost all underdeveloped countries. It should be noted that the aggregate effect of poor yields makes itself felt in very low retui-ns on investment, which is well known to be particularly heavy in the livestock sector, above all in relation to land and animals, (a) Rate of slaughter. It is difficult to indicate changes in production for slaughter on the basis of livestock inventories, as fairly complete statistics in this respect are available only for 1950 and 1956, In these two years the rate of slaughter líould sean to have been 7.15 and 7,10 per cent of cattle i n v e n t o r i e s t h a t is, no improvement in the rate of slaughter was Excluding ^ situ slaughter, not recorded in statistics but estimated at 10 per cent of registered slaughter, which would bring real slaughter rates up to 7,86 in 1950 and 7,81 in 1956, /FIGURE I E/CN.12/558 Page.29 FIGURE VENEZUELA : T O T A L MEAT PRODUCTION AND POPULATION GROWTH RATE INDICES SEMI-LOGARITHMIC SCALE í0 |0 TREND OF PRODUCTION 350 h 300; T O T A L MEAT PRODUCTION INDEX 250 200 POPULATION INDEX 150 100 I •' 19^0 J ! ! L • ! I i I ! ! !• 50 55 59 ;u / T & b l e 11 E/CM.12/55Ô Page 30 Table 11 VKKEEUEU: LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION INDICES^ l?50-59 ( 9 0 " 100) 15 Year Red meat Milk 1950 100.0 100.0 1951 97.6 109.5 1552 97.8 127.7 1553 98.9 llt2.8 109.2 157.0 1955 115.5 170.5 1956 119.8 172,2 1957 136.0 m.^ 195a 151.8 200.1 1959 ies,8 201.7 Source; Tables 7 and % /registered» It p E/CN.12/55Ô Page 31 registered. It may be asserted a priori that the rate of cattle slaughter did rise in 1957 and 1958, since had it remained the same slaughter statistics for the latter year vjould imply the existence of a cattle population of about 9 million head, as against 7.16 mi]_lion in 1956, ivhich would mean a 25-per cent increment in two years. As so great an eiqjansion is imlikely to have been achieved, it may be concluded that the increase in the volume of cattle slaughtered is more probably the effect of a higher slaughter rate and of clandestine imports. The tendency observable in the last few years to slaughter younger cattle than used to be the case would seem to confirm the foregoing statement. Given better feeding systems and breeds or types of cattle that are quicker to mature, the rate of slaughter might of course be further raised, in as much as fat stock could be brought at a yet earlier age into satisfactory condition for the slaughterhouse, to which they are still sent somewhat belatedly (at 4 to 5 years of age, on an average). For pigs, sheep and goats the rate of slaughter is equally low, since registered slaughter represents barely one fifth of inventories, whereas in countries whose livestock activities have attained a more advaiiced stage of development, stocks of these species are renewed from one year to the next. Even on the assumption that clandestine ¿.laughter figures are high, the rate of slaughter is lanlikely to exceed 50 per cent, owing to feeding and fattening problems, (b) Meat yields Another indication of the low degree of efficiency registered in meat production is afforded by the poor yields of the cattle that reach the slaughterhouses. Although the average live weight of beef cattle (340 kilogrammes) cannot be considered low in absolute terms, xihat matters is the degree of fattening and the age of slaughter, and such a weight in the case of full-grown animals suggests that there is somethjjag wrong with the fattening practices adopted. Many aniirals do in fact rec.^-h the slaughterhouses in a frankly undesirable conjitton from this stendr.oint. Moreover, the carcass yield amounts to bareiir 50 per cent in bulls a/id steers and rather less in cov/s, tus v/eighted aver^ gy being 47 per cent. In short, so low a rate of slaughter and so poor a meat yield per head reduce meat production per head of the cattle population to minimal levels, as is /shown by E/CN.12/558 Page 32 shown by the figure estimated for 1956 - 13 kilogi-ammes which is definitely unfavourable in comparison vdth 48 kilogrammes in the case of Argentina, 36 in that of Uruguay and 20 in that of Paraguay, It is important to note that average meat yields per head vary . considerably from one State to another, and even, in the same part of the country, from one year to the next. This is naturally due to differences in types of cattle, proportions of male and female animals slaughtered and kinds of pasture, as well as to climatic factors and to economic reasons which induce cattle fatteners to hasten or delaj"- the sale of the animals in their hands. The following were the variations in average annual beef yields for the country as a whole: Year or period Kilogrammes 1945-47 172 1948-50 173 1951-53 155 1954 161 1955 166 1956 167 1957 167 195s ^^ 1 7 1 1959 173 ' • It can be seen from the foregoing statistics that the average yield of carcass meat per animal slaughtered rose significantly from 1955 onwards. The greater expansà.on of total and per capita meat production in recent years must be attribv.ted not only to the increase in tlie number of cattle slaughtered but also to the improvement in their utilizable ;\'eight. As regards disparities, between yields by areas, suffice it to note that the .highest figures are registered in the Federal District, together with the States of Caraboboj Lara, Miranda, Tâchira ajnd Ziü.ia, main.ly ^5/ On '-he assumption tiiat cD.andestine slavgnter- represents 10 per cent and that the average yield of carcass Rteat is 170 kilogrammes. /oi-dng to * 1-' E/CN.12/558 Page 33 owing to the predominance of slaughter of males and of animals whose live weight is greater; at the other extreme are found the States of Apure, Barinas, Bolivar, Gojedes, Guârico and Monagas, where yields fall below 150 kilogrammes, because supplies are based mainly on the slaughter of cows, as happens in all meat-producing areas which send their yo\mg bulls and steers to the more densely populated centres, (c) Milk yields There are also appreciable differencas in milk yields per COK, resulting from the kind of cattle prevalent, the quality of the soil and of the available fodder, climate, and management and administration practices. In the milk-producing areas the daily yield per cow varies from upv;ards of 2 litres in dairy farms based on criollo hards to as much as 12 litres in farms possessing specialized breeds of foreign origin. In the south of the State of Zulia, the soil azici climate are especially favourable fc^r milk production, but the average yield per cow/day is only 4 to 5 litres, owing to the preponderance of criollo and low-yielding mestizo cattle. In the State of Lara and in the central zone of Venezuela natural conditions are less propitious, on account of the shortage of good fodder, due in its turn, to the low rainfall, but yields are much higher because the farmers work with imp'-'oved dairy bi-eeds (Holstein, Brown Swiss and Jerseys, in particular) ard devote mere attention to the mana¿c:.ient and suppla.mentary feeding of cows during the lactation period» Natality rate A series of factors are responsible for a level of reproductive efficiency which must be considered really low, especially on extensive farms in the tropics. As a general rule, the natality figure amounts to only 50 per cent of the cows that have entered upon the reproductive period, which means that, if the death rate for nu.^sing calves - estimated at 10 per cent - is discounted, the reproductive efficiency rate would seem to be 40 per c e n t , of half that achieved on farms run entirely on the basis of modern breeding techuiq-ies, Unquestionaoly, this is due not only to the exlcnsiv--: farc-ijag sys'cems current in Venezuela and the practice of grazing the cattle "out on the range" - which hinders the supervision and /management of E/CM.12/55Ô Page 34 management of breeding stock but also in large meastire to protein and mineral deficiencies, to the incidence of diseases that adversely affect fertility and to the shortage of good stud bulls, (e) Productivity o " other factors x The productivity of the other factors of livestock production - land, capital and labour - varies considerably from one area to another, but on an average is strikingly low, especially on small and technologically under-developed farms. Thus, for example, in stock-breeding activities, the marginal jrields of labour and capital barely suffice to cover the cost of the factors; the productivity of capital is sometimes much less than long-term interest rates on cash deposits and, of course, far below the rate of interest on capital invested in crop farming. Investment in improvements and the introduction of more advanced tech;-iiques is remunerative only in the case of relatively large farms, which means that for small producers there is no incentive to take such steps» As for the land factor, its marginal productivity is negative,-^^ It is worth noting that productivity is much higher on farms where livestock activities are supplemented by crop cultivation, as a logical result of the more efficient distribution and utilization of factors that can be achieved through the integration of crop and stoclc farming, or combined production. ?6/ On f r i i in the States of Barinas, ilonagas and Guârico Occidental, anc according to research conducted by the Crop and Livestock Programming Department of the Ministry of Agriculture. /Ill, FACTORS E/CN.12/55Ô Page 35 III. FACTORS LIMCTDiG PRODUCTION The obstacles to the development of stock farming in Venezuela derive from a wide variety of factors. The majority consist in defective produc- tion techniques, but others, like the unsatisfactory marketing of livestock commodities, are independent of producers' decisions and unconnected v i t r.h the production process, 1, Livestock diseases The heavy incidence of diseases which cause livestock mortality and losses in Venezuela is imputable not only to the tropical conditions in which stock farming is carried on in the Llanos and along the littoral, but also, and above all, to the fact that health control measures are not adopted everywhere as current practices. Through the Veterinary Unit of the National Department of Livestock Production and other technical services, an increasingly intensive campaign is being waged to prevent disease and eliminate the commonest pathological agents which cause the severest losses,----'^ The results achieved are encouraging, but the morbidity indices registered at present are still fairly high (see tables 12 and 13 below). The death rate is approximately calculated at 12-15 per cent of nursing calves and 5 per cent of older animals. In rangeland areas, average morcality indices rise as high as from 25 to 30 per cent in pQ / calves and from 6 to 7 per cent in adult cattle,-—' (a) Infectious and contagious diseases xllthough the economic losses caused by infectious diseases have not been ascertained, they are known to be responsible for high mortality figures and for slowing up production of meat, milk, wool and other livestock commodities. ^ In 195S the staff of the Sanitary Protection Unit of the liinistry of Agricultura gave preventive treaLr.ant in 591,127 cases and curative treatment in 108,166 others, 7¿J Census taken in 16 small stock farming areas in the States of Anzoâtegui, Apure, Aragua, Barinas, Bolivar, Falcon, Guárico, Mranda and Tachira, (i) Foot- E/CN.12/55Ô Page 36 (i) Foot-and-mouth disease. This malady made its first appearance in Venezuela in 1950, and since then has made serious inroads on herds in various parts of the country. By 1954 it had alread3'- spread to the States of Aragua, Carabobo, Cojedes and Portuguesa, as well as the Federal District. A f^^ years later (in 1955 and 1959) ic was found in e.r '- all States, with the exception of Bolivar, classified as an "uncontaminated area". However, the corresponding morbidity rate has been largely brought under control, thanks to mass inoculation in all the affected areas, disinfection, regulation of movera.ent from one place to another, and other health measures. In 195Õ the total number of cases officially inoculated against the "A" and "0" types of foot-and-mouth virus amounted to 3,167,218, and in the first half of 19159 inoculations vdth both types of virus had already reached a total of 1,852,366, at a cost of 2,373,375 bolivars.^^ As alrepdy pointed out, the incidence of foot-and-mouth disease has been considerably modified, since in 195S the number of outbreaks diagnosed was 39, as against 103 in the preceding year, (ii) Bang's disease (Brucellosis abovtus). This disease also occasions substantial losses, especia3.1y among breeding and dairy farms in the States of Carabobo, Lara, Marida, Miranda, Trujillo and Zulia. To reduce the losses in question, inoculation with Strain 19 has been intensified, applications of this vaccine having numbered about 60,000 in 1958 and 43,865 in the first half of 1959; it v;as in the former year that inoculation was for the first time extended to the greater part of the couritry. Also in 1958, the sero-agglutination service perioriiied over 6,000 tests, and this figure was exceeded in the first half of the following year.. (ill) Bovine tupiere ulosis. The rate of mortality ajiiong animals infected with this disease is not high, but bovine tuberculosis represents a grave danger to consumers. Its incidence is heaviest in farms where intensive methods are practised, and especially among herds in the Federal District and the States of liiranda, Aragua, Carabobo and Lara, that is, in the central zone, which is the most densely populated area. Prior to 1959, the level of infection ascertained to exist was somewhat alarming. 2,9/ Ministry of Agriculture, Memoria del Mnistro de Agricultur,a., 1959, and Material para la Segunda Convención de Gobernadores. 1959. /since in E/CN,12/558 Page 37 since in the Federal District and the State of Mranda 22 and 9 per cent, respectively, of the total number of cattle subjected to tuberculin tests were found to be infected. In 195Õ, 7,283 cases had been diagnosed out of a total of 136,103 tuberculin-tested cattle, which implied an average level of infection of 5.35 per cent; of the total number of sick animals 1,017 wsre slaughtered in the course of the year, that is, 14 per cent of the reactors. But in the first half of 1959 the incidence of bovine tuberculosis was a good deal less, since tuberculin tests numbering 80,105 in all showed minimum and maximum levels of infection of only 0.10 and 0.85 per cent.^^ (iv) Other infectious diseases. Other infectious and contagious maladies likevri.se cause significant losses among various animal species. Cases in point are hog cholera, infectious Coryza and Newcastle disease in poultry, pneumoenteritis among young cattle, haemorrhagic septicaemia in several species, anthrax and Clostridium chauvoei. etc. The spread and incidence of the agents that cause infectious or contagious diseases have been checked to a considerable extent through the special campaigns undertaken by the Sanitary Protection, Foot-and-Mouth Disease, TuberciLosis and Brucellosis Units of the Animal Health Division, In other aspects of veterinary pathology, more dependent upon the care taken by the farmers themselves, the progress of sanitary control measures has been very limited in the past few years. The incidence of Clostridium chauvoei. pneumoenteritis and haemorrhagic septicaemia,, for instance, and the mortality caused by these diseases, are in fact still high (see table 12), (b) Parasitic diseases Endoparasitic and ectoparasitic infestation is fairly widespread in all stock farming areas in Venezuela, and although the mortality it causes is not high, it inflicts substantial losses on the livestock economy through the spoliative action of the parasites. Table 13, which registers only those cases of endoparasitic infestation which were certified by the Veterinary Unit, gives some idea of the frequency of the commonest parasitic diseases. As can be seen, blood parasites (anaplasma, babesia, piroplasma 30/ Material para la Segunda Convención de Gobernadores, op.cit., p,30. /Table 10 E/CN.12/55S Page 38 Table 12 VENEZUKU: PREaUENCy OP SCME INFECTIOUS AND CONTAGIOOS DISEASES, I95I4 AND I55Ô Disease 1951^ Number of oases 1959 Numbep of cases diagnosed 447 8oé Bang's disease (Brueellosis abortvm) Nujaber of deaths certified - 62 Anthrax ClostridiUB ohauvoel 52 263 326 202 3 247 4 144 423 Avian infectious ooryia 51 308 12 509 340 Vesicular stonatitis a/ 1 019 1 601 26 Poort^ndwaouth disease 3 Il6 • •• • «* >•* 2 968 - 278 126 Hog cholera fJastitits Pnoumosnterltis b/ 1 352 Nsweastla 2 1 489 221 78 57 50 lisiemorrhagic septicaemia 3 076 3 782 830 Bovine tuberculosis 7 283 1 017 1 oi7¿ Bovine paralytic rabies Source: Por ISS^t: Ministry of Agriculture^ Department of Llvestook Production, Anioial Health Division, Infonnaolfo estadístloa,, 195^« Por 1958: Special report by the Animal Heal-fch Division» a/ b^ 0/ d/ Especially in cattle, In oatt'ioa In cattle, holies, pigs and poultiy. Slaughtered a^lnst compensation. /Table 13 E/CN.12/558 . Page 39 Table I3 VENEZUEU: CWMONEST ENDCPAÍUSITIC DISKASLS, I558 Disease Number of oases diagnosed Anaplasmosls b/ 6 2 1 Babesiosis b/ Plroplasmosls c/ Trypanosomiasis Verminous bronchopneumonia d/ Number of deaths oertlfied 2 6 I t 1 0 1 ii to 51 2 1 760 2 0 2 1 60U 1 yj VerKlnous bronchitis b/ Cocciddiosis js/ 2 Gastro-lntestlml parasitic infestation 5 942 3 24 Souroei Direct Informn-tlon supplied by the Animal Health Division, Sanitary Protection Unit, a/ These do not invariably correspond to cases previously diagnosed, b/ In cattle, 0/ In cattle and horses, d/ Mainly in cattle, e/ In poultry and cattle. /and trypanocoma) E/CN.12/558 Page 40 and trypanosoma) are much in evidence, cases of trypanosomiasis, piroplasmosis and anaplasmosis being the most numerous and responsible for the largest number of deaths. Gastro-intestinal and bronchopulmonary parasitic infestations are decidedly frequent, particularly among young animals of all species, and the high mortality to which they usually lead is not generally shown in veterinary records. Ectoparasitic infestation is also widespread, especially that produced by ticks and by tórsalo CDermatobia hominis, locally known as gusano de monte). The former are not only harmful to development and to meat and milk yields, on account of the intensity of their spoliative effects, but are also vectors of other pathological agents, such as the three haemotozoa causing the diseases listed at the beginning of table 13. Torsalo damages the animals' hide, fosters mycosis and cutaneous infections, and, when the animal is very badly infested, is detrimental to production. This group of ectoparasites constitutes one of the most serious obstacles to the importation and adaptation of' improved European breeds. Fortunately, the 'Ectoparasites Unit of the Animal Health Divi.sion is intensifying its campaign to exterminate them, by means of baths and spraying, and recently by systematic dosing and spraying with specific anti-torsalo insecticidas. Venezuela may be said to have taken the lead in the use of such insecticides to eradicate torsalo, a parasite which up to a short time ago seemed impossible to control, (c) Deficiency diseases This group includes a long list of organic disorders and disturbances of animal metabolism, of whose origin farmers as a ru.le know little, and which are caused by the total or partial lack of mineral elements, proteins and vitamins. Most of these deficiencies are not apparent causes of mortality, but they are reflected in the retarding of grovrth and productive capacity, loss of i\'eight, reduction of fertility - and consequently of the birth rate -, lowered resistance to disease, disorders of the nervous system, etc. jimong the commonest of the diseases and disorders caused by mineral deficiencies are hypophosphorosis and aphosphorosis, since phosphorus is the mineral in vrhich both soils and pasturage are most seriousljr lacking; /this is E/CN.12/558 . Page 41 this is particularly trxie of the overgrown and toughened fodder plants so often to be seen in much of the grazing-land used for the extensive type of stock farming in Venezuela. Another problem in pastures of the latter kind is constituted by protein deficiencies, attributable to the predominance of grasses, which, as is common knowledge, are poor in nitrogenous substances. Vitamin deficiencies, broadly speaking, affect only the poultrykeeping industry. 2. Nutritional deficiencies Despite advances in animal nutrition in Venezuela in recent years, nutritional deficiencies are still a major obstacle to increased livestock production. Feeding methods are still obviously backward as regards grasses better adapted to the climate and of greater nutritive value, pasture management and the use of supplementary feeds» The following observations, although brief, give some idea of the nutritional problems of the Venezuelan livestock industry, (a) Pastures and grasses In the extensive type of stock farming prevailing in Venezuela, the animals generally graze on large pastures or stretches of open range, consisting mainly of natural grasslands. More than SO per cent of the total pasture land in Venezuela is of this type. Its carrying capacity is distinctly lew, partly because of the predominance of natural grasses, often only seasonably available, and partly because of their low nutritive value. The most important native grasses include Gamelotillo (Paspalum plicatum), which is drought-resistant, and Carretero (Eragrostis maypurensis) and Lambedora (Leersia hexandra). which flourish only in humid soils. Where there is suitable soil and rainfall, some native legumes that are much more valuable as fodder grow in conjunction with the grasses. Artificial pastures have a much higher carrj^ing capacity, but these constitute only 15 per cent of the total grazing land. Guinea grass (Panicum ma>à.mum) and Yaraguá (Hyparrhenia rufa) grov; well in dry soil, and Fará (Paricum purpurascens) in humid conditions. Other high-quality artificial grasses such as pangóla grass (Digitaria decumbens) and /Bermuda grass E/CN.12/558 . Page 42 Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) are cultivated on a very small scale, but there seems to be a growing interest in their cultivation. The cultivated legumes include tropical kudzu (Pueraria phaseoloides), which is becoming more widely used because of its high nutritive value and its qualities as a soil protector. (b) Inadequate pasture management The low carrying capacity is a result not only of the type of grasses 31/ and of the predominance of a single grass,— but also of management, many aspects of which are unsatisfactory» For example, the grasses are often left to grow for too long, so' that their nutritive value is reduced and they become so tough that the animals refuse tc eat them. Neglect is also often evidenced by the presence of weeds and even poisonous plants. Only a small number of livestock farmers practice systematic pasture rotation, and it is fairly common practice to maintain perennial pasture with the same type of livestock grazing on it. The use of fertilizers, irrigation and reseeding are not among current livestock practices, and there is v r - little cultivation of fodder plants for cutting, even on ejdairy farms. (c) Lack of supplementary feeding The use of cut fodder, hay ensilage and concentrates is very limited, either because the farmers are not familiar with them, or because they are scarce and expensive. In many livestock areas, conditions are favourable for the cultivation of fodder varieties suitable for making hay or ensilage, but it is not the pracLice to use such fodder, even during seasonal shortages of grasses. During the raiiiy season there is usually abundant grov;th on the pastures, in some areas to such an extent that hay or ensilage could be made, thus offsetting the enormous seasonal fluctuations in production, for example on dairy farms, ca.used by the lack of an adequate and balanced diet for milk cows during the dry season. Hay and ensilage could be produced at a comparatively low.cost, but before these practices could become general, a campaign to demonstrate I o i advantages on a wider scale would be required. ter 31/ Only on a few intensive and well organized farms is there a combination of plants in one pasture. /Other supplementary E/CN.12/558 . Page 43 Other supplementarj' foods for livestock - grain, molasses, oilcake (cottonseed, sesame, copra), by-products from slaughterhouses and breweries and comniercial preparations - are also available on only a very liirdted scale and can only be obtained at very high prices. It should be noted that one of the main reasons why supplementary foods are not available on most farms is the lack of integration in animal husbandry or of mixed livestock and crop farming, systems that are highly desirable and necessary if there is to be a more efficient utilization of the factors of production. 3. Breed improvement Here too Venezuelan problems are very similar to those in other tropical and subtropical countries. The characteristic feature of stock farming in these areas is the presence of criollo breeds that require little care and are very resistant to the rigours of the climate, but in most cases give only a very low economic yield. The fact is that much livestock acti\àty based on the breeding and raising of native strains has sunk to a level of m.arginal productivity - or at least of very low yield — as the use of the factors of production has become more competitive and costly. Often stock farming has been replaced by mechanized or higheryield forms of agriculture, but the vaet increase in the demand for livestock products means that animal production can survive even at the low levels of physical productivity of the native breeds. As stated previously, Venezuela has made a praiseworthy effort to raise the genetic level of its livestock. This has been done mainly by large and growing imports of specimens of improved breeds, in order not only graduallji- to absorb criollo strains that are not likely to lead to any improvement of stock, but aleo to develop programmes of cross-breeding, hybridization and grading that have been shown or appear likely to be well suited to Venezuelan conditions. The beneficial effects of imports and the technical guidance that is being given justify expectations of even better results in the future. In many areas conditions with respect to the soil, grasses, climate, organization, management, etc., are unfavourable and preclude the use of intensive systems with spcialized foreign breeds, and attempts to establish /them in E/CN.12/558 . Page 44 THEM in such circumstances have resulted in complete failui'e, Haice in Venezuela, as in other tropical coxmtries, the emphasis is on the selection and iiiprovement of certain groups of criollo cattle, especially those vdth characteristics suited for milk production in the tropics, where the high temperature limit the reproductive functions as well as milk production in specialized breeds of European origin. Increasing use of highly specialized breeds, both for milk and meat, will naturally depend on efforts to improve livestock conditions and on scientific progress in the field of disease and pest control, acclimatization, nutrition, etc. 4. Defective management Animal hygiene, the supply of fodder and supplementary foods and the level of genetic improvement do not depend solely on ecological conditions, bvit can be considerably modified and improved by intelligent and progressive methods of administration and management on the farms and ranches. Unfortunately this particular factor of production tends to be neglected in the livestock sector, either because there is an absentee landlord, or because the landlord lacks the required administrative ability, or because management is left entirely to bailiffs or foremen with very liiaited qualifications. Farmers are well aware that the herd's productivity is high when its health is well cared for, when its diet is adequate and balanced, and, from a longer-term standpoint, when there is control of stud services and births and the anirnals are selected on a yield basis. All this ctn usually be done with a relatively modest outlay of capital and labour, but many livestock producers fail to attach to the administrative and management aspects the importance they deserve. There are many operations and practices on stock farms that should be part of the routine of management and that can generally be carried out at little e;^ense. The most important include periodic vaccination, anti-parasitic dips and treatments, castration at the proper time, control of reproduction and the timing of births, the admixture of minerals as required and the careful handling of animals. There should also be routine rotation and cleaning of pastures, records of production and mortality, and many other similar measures connected with administration and organization. /5. Marketing and S/®.12/558 Page 45 5. Marketing and distribution systems The marketing, slaughtering and distribution of livestock products are dealt with here as f?ctors liRiiting livestock production, because although they are not production operstions, the backward conditions in which they are practiced have adverse effects on the interests of the producers, and often also on the quality of the products. It is common knovjledge that a i efficient, marketing organization benefits both the j producer and the consumer] it ensures for the former the sale of his products at the most convenient time and place and at normal market prices, and for the consumer a regular supply of the products suitably graded as to quality and guaranteed as to hygienic conditions. This is not the case in Venezuela, where present conditions as regards marketing and slaughtering, meat, milk and other livestock products leave a great deal to be desired with respect both to marketing operations and to marketing organizption and services, A detailed consideration of all these aspect and questions would not be appropriate in the present study, especially sijice they have been carefully studied and analysed for livestock and meat;-^^ accordingly this section will merely outline the main features and point out the most obidous shortcomings. (a) Livestock and meat marketing Although Venezuela has made considerable progress in means of transport and roads, most anlaals for slaughter still travel to the consumption or fattening centres on the hoof, with conseouent loss of 33/ weight—^ and deaths. The transport of livestock by lorry and railway is also in need of improvement. Although it is true that the present decentralization of slaughtering reduces transport difficuloies, it is equally true that the concentration and centralization of slaughtering and the establishment of large public cattle markets v/ill not be possible without rapid and adequate means of transport. Moreover centralized slaughtering requires established supply centres and a separate organization for fattening centras. Hence gradual centralization is advisable, through a nvimber of strategically placed centres, 32/ La industria ganadera en Venezuela and La industria ganadera de came en Venezuela. 1958, published by the Mnistry of Agriculture and Livestock, 33/ The average loss is Ô per cent of live weight, /In addition E/CN.12/558 . Page 46 In addition to the transport problem, there is also the matter of the sale of livestock, since cattle fairs and trading are not properlyorganized, The animals sent to market or directly to the abattoirs are usually of different ages and often deplorably lean, and there are no regulations on the subject or unifoi^m standards of grading. Even in official purchases of cattle for slaughtering, the differences in price relate only to differences in carcass v/eight, regardless of the degree of fattening and quality of the animals, and this naturally destroys any incentive for the producers to provide animals of better ouality. Slaughtering and processing conditions are defective in the same way as in other countries - such as Bolivj.a, Brazil, Cuba, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Central America - where there are abattoirs in every municipality, however small the population. In many places there is no organized marketing of livesèocK for food; there are usually one or two slaughlereis vAio b-içra few steers or old cows on the same farm^ carry out the slaughtering and other operations themselves at the municipal slaughter-house on payment of a fee, and then sell the meat in a small shop v/hich has none of the requireu equipment or facilities. Thus operations at small slaughter-houses are carried out in dangerous hygienic conditions with no public health control; moreover, the limited volume of operations does not justify expenditvire on a suitable and properly equipped building, far less the utilization of by-products, which involve machinery and trained staff. semi-urban areas and in the small centres. This is the situation in the In large t o m s and in more populated municipalities livestock and meat marketing is better organized, although much remains to be done as regards the marketing, slaughtering and processing of animal products. Up to the end of 1958 the following was the calendar of cattle fairs, according to direct information from the Statistical Division of the ííinistvy of Agriculture and Livestock: (1) San Cristóbal (Táchira), 21 January (2) Maracay (aragua), 20 February (3) Valencia (Carabobo), 21 March (4) ííatvirín (Monagas), 15 April /(5) San Felipe E/CÍÍ.12/55Ô Page 47 (5) San Felipe (Yaracuy), 1 May (6) Carola (Lara), 24 J m e (7) San Carlos (Zulia), 16 July (Ô) Târiba (Tâchira), 16 August (9) Tovar (Mêrida), 9 September (10) Ciudad Bolívar (Bolívar), 15 October There is public health inspection of livestock and meat at about 150 slaughter-houses. In many of them the volume of operations is small, with a daily slaughtering rate of 1 to 10 animals, A daily rate of over 50 head of cattle is recorded for very few abattoirs (see table 14). The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, in order to remedy present defects in slaughtering, is cf.rrying out a programme for the building or reconditioning of industrial aoattoirs, preferably in the stock raising and fattening areas and in conformity vvlth studies on location, capacity and operation carried out by the I'iinistry.'^^ Considerable interest has been shovjn in V^enezuela in the storage of meat products, as evidenced by the fact that at the end of 195S there were 34 refrigerating plants in the country with a capacity of 109,140 cubic metres. But ônly abcnt a quarter of this capacity has been used, because of the consumer's preference for fresh meat, and also because seasonal variations in the supply of livestock are not sufficient to 3V leave large surpluses for storage and c o n s e r v a t i o n , M o r e o v e r , refrigeration is not oombined with the other processing operations, which would be the rational arrangement. The operations included in the various stages of marketing are carried out by a large number of middlemen who do not have the specialized functions of their counterparts in the large towns, or else by wholesalers who undertake the slaughtering and the supplying of meat to retailers, 34/ W, Dubuc Marchiani, Recopilación sobre mataderos industriales(Caracas«1958) ^5/ The estimated seasonal variation in slaughtering is 12 to 13 per of the annual average, with the minimum levels in April, May and and the maximiim in December and January, for reasons relating to condition of the pastures, (See La industria ganadera de came Venezuela, op.cit. /Table 14 cent June the en E/CN.12/55Ô Page 860 Table Ik VBNEZUEUs REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION OP THE MAIN SUUGHTER-HOUSES, 1558 a/ Number of slaughterhouses State 3 Márida 11 12 Miranda 8 Apure 6 Monagas 2 Aragua 10 Portuguesa 6 State Federal Distrit Anzoátesui Number of slaiighterhouses Barinas 7 Sucre 6 Bolivar k Táchira 7 Carabobo 5 Trujillo 11 Yaracujr 6 Cojedes Paloin Gurfrico Lara 3 6 11 13 Eulia Amazoms territory 1 Delta Amacuro territory 1 Source; Statistical DiTislcn of the Crop and Livestock Planning Department of the Mlnlstrj'- of Agriculture» ^ Subject to veterirary inspeofcion provided by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare» /institutional consumers E/GN.12/558 Page 49 institutional consumers and shopkeepers. Better organized marketing and distribution services are provided by a small number of producerwholesalers who manage their own plans and sell the meat through various channels, or through a private or public industrial vrholesaler. Retail services vary in efficiency end volume of operations according to whether they are in the large towns or small centres. In the latter, the small turnover and absence of suitable legislation means that the retail sale of meat is carried out in unsatisfactory conditions. In the more populated centres, retail marketing conditions are better, but costs are rather high; there are many suitably equipped retail butchers, but the turnover is very low and the resulting high costs are passed on to the consumer in the form of high meat prices.^^ The lack of specialized markex-ing operations and the great variations in the quality of the products result in high marketing margins that fluctuate enormously not only as between areas but even within a single market. The lack of proper greJing and information also contributes to these discrepancies. The large marketing margins in Venezuela are dearly due to the high marketing costs, attributable in turn to slaughtering and marketing systems that are still very unsatisfactorj'-. These margins are obviously a heavy burden for the consumer nnd the high prices are unrelated either to the quality of the products or to the type of service provided. Apart from the disadvantages of the large number of middlemen v/ho add to marketing costs - although they provide important services, often in return for only a modest profit ~ it should be emphasized that the profit margin on low-grade meat is usually quite unjustifiable, because of the small differentiation between the final prices and because of other marketing defects. Up to a few years ago the slaughtering and marketing margin for beef in the Caracas market was 23 per cent of the final price, or 23 céntimos for each bolivar paid by the consumer, of which lb,8 céntimos went to 36/ In the central zone of Venezuela there are over 3,000 retail butchers, with average sales of barely one quarter carcasss per day, /the retailer E/CN.12/558 . Page 50 the retailer and only 1.86 to the wholesaler, the rest being for transport and slaughtering costs. The average national pattern is different, since, in 1956, 57.7 of the price paid by the consumer went to the producer, 18.6 to the wholesaler and 23.7 to the retailer.^^ Data on changes in marketing margins between 1950 and 1956 show that the producer's and retailer's share has increased steadily, while the wholesaler's share has decreased considerably. This change occurs as services become more specialized or efficient, as costs climb and the volume of operations expands; this is confirmed by the data given above for Caracas, where the meat market is better organized, (b) Marketing of milk products Advances in the marketing, processing and distrioution of milk and milk products have oeen more rapid than for livestock and meat. The official policy of developing milk production and iiicreasing consiimption has benefited the producer, the processer and the consumer. The situation with respect to milk collection and transport to the distribution and consumption centres has improved as a result of the building of new thoroughfares, road improvement and the organization of collection and transport services by the processing plants. Some weaknesses nevertheless remain to be remedied, especially vdth respect to the quality and condition of milk supplied by certain dairy farms that are in remote areas or that have no proper milking and refrigerating facilities. With respect to the production of cream, butter and cheese, there are also notorious shortcomings as regards quality, hygiene, conservation and distribution. Cream for butter making is sent from dairy farms in remote areas to the towns where there are processing plants - Maracaibo, for instance - v^rtience it is sent to the consumer centres. The same applies to cheese. The marketing and processing of pasteurized milk are at a fairly advanced level and there has been a great expansion in recent years. In 1955, there were already 11 pasteurization plents in operation and 8 under construction; by the and of 1958 there had been a considerable increEse, as shown by the follovving list: ¿2/ La industria de carne en Venezuela. 1958, op.cit. /Federal District E/CN.12/558 . Page 51 Federal District Federal District Federal District Federal District Fedèral District Federal District Federal District Aragua Aragua Aragua Caraoobo Guárico Lara Lara r.ara Ivliranda Miranda Miranda Miranda Monagas Táchira Zulia Zulia Zulia Zulia Zulia Zulia Zulia Zulia Zulia Sindicatotíela Leche, S.A. (Silsa) Cremería WCoCional Marcor y Alaca (Soc.) Pastelería Venecia Prolaca Kempis Lactmrio Zulia Sindicato de la Leche, S.A, (Silsa) Lechería Aragua, S.A, Lactuario Maracay Industrias Lácteas de Carabobo, C.A, Productos Lácteos LLano Oriental, S.A, Productios de T^ra, C.A. Hijos de Rincón Herrera, C.A, Pasteurizadora del Norte, C.A, Pasteurizadora Caracas, C.A, Leche Delta, C.A. Industrias Lácteas Venezolanas (inlaca) La iíormanda Rafael Casas Pasteurizadora Táchira, C.A, Vía Láctea, C.A. Unión de Productores Agrop. (Upaca) Lactuario y Explotaciones "Alfa" INDOSA Empresa Láctea., S.A. ItlDUIAC Cremeríc. Nacional Lac'&uario Perijá Agapeca In 1958, the total volume of raw millc received at pasteurization plants amounted in round figures to 144 million litres, of which some 139 million were pasteurized. Plant capacity greatly exceeds present supoly; Caracas plants are working at between 60 and 9 ^ per cent and * other plants at only 30 or 40 per cent of capacity. Although this situation is favourable from the standpoint of future e^ipansion of consumption, it poses the problem of high production costs in low-capacity production units, which is v^at most of the e::dLsting pasteurization plants are. The high price of pasteurized milk might logically be expected to fall with the growing use of available capacity, but this is not likely to happen except to a limited extent, since the trend is to set ii plants :p in all the large towns because of the widespread preference for and cons\:anp-oion of this type of mllk."^^ Grade B pasteurized milk with a bacterial count of not more than 50,000 per cubic centimetre and with an everage fat content of 4.2 per cent, according to Government regulations, /The preserved E/CN.12/558 . Page 52 The preserved milk business has also expanded yearly as a result of the groxifing encouragement of production aimed at reducing the greater volume of i m p o r t s T h e r e are two plants for condensed and dried milk in Venezuela, one (Indulac) at Santa Barbara de Zulia, with a processing capacity of about 200,000 litres of raw mi3.k daily, and the other, which has a much lower capacity, at Quebrada Arriba, Distrito Torres, in the State of Laraj these plants are subsidiaries of Nestlé and Borden, whose activities have greatly increased as a result of the change authorized early in 1958 in the authorized proportion of imported to domestic milk powder, reducing the proportion from 6:1 to Nevertheless, the first plant still has unused capacityj its equipment and organization are excellent, and its products are well known throughout the country» The marketing margin for pasteurized milk sold in Caracas at the end of 1958 x r s approximately 30 per cent of the final retail price and ia 26.3 per cent of the price paid by institutional buyers. producer's share was 70 per cent of the retail price Thus the plus the frilnistry of Development's subsidy paid throiigh the processing plants For milk powder the estimated margin is 1.60 bolívares per kilogramme. The prices paid to producers, which are not subject to any form of Government control, are set by agreement between the producers and the processing plants through the Venezuelan Milk Council (Consejo Venezolano de la Leche), whose executive board includes representatives of both parties. The Government does, on the other hand, have a say in the fixing of maximum consumer prices, through the same Council. 39/ In September 1958, the subsidy for raw milk for processing was increased to 14 and 10 céntimos for second-and third-grade milk respectively, less than that for first-grade milk (15 céntimos per litre), for which the requirements are a reduction time of 6 hours at a maximum temperature of 10®C., herds that are officially inspected and free from tuberculosis and brucellosis, and staff with health certificates, 40/ Towards the middle of I96O the ratio was changed again to 4:1. / IV, CGMSUiiPi'ION E/CN.12/558 . Page 53 IV. CONSUI'ÍPTIOM OF AND DEf-IAND FOR LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS 1. Variations and trends in consiimption levels Although the consumption levels for protective foods in Venezuela have improved in recent years, they remain low in relation to nutritional requirements, Under-consumption of meat, milk products and eggs is found especially among rural wage-earners and among the greater part of the lower-paid urban workers. One favourable factor is the rapid increase in the effective demand resulting from population growth - one of the world's highest - and the visible increase in available income. These special socio-economic circumstances, in conjunction \-iith a fairly stable price level, have had the effect of encouraging the consumption of foods of animal origin. Figure II gives indices for the total consiomption of meat and milk products and for their price levels during the period 1951-5S. It can be seen that an appreciable expansion in consumption coincided v-dth fairly stable price levels during this period and, in recent years, there has been an increase in per capita consmption for most such products. It is hoped that these improvements will continue, since conditions favour a greater supply of protective foods from domestic production. The Venezuelan livestock industry will naturally have to be encouraged to attain higher physical productivity in order to bring down production costs. By this means the natural level of relative prices will continue to stimulate consumption. The partial import substitution that mey reasonably be expected calls for the encouragement of relatively low-cost domestic consumption, (a) Meat consmnption Table 15 shows the almost continuous increase in the total consumption of meat of all types of livestock (excluding poultry) during the last decade, the indices for 1957 and 195S being particularly high. Apparent consimiption rose from an annual average of 51,COO tons in 1947-40 to 95,000 in 1953-55 and 119,000 in 1956-58, which is equivalent to an increase of 17 per cent in the first case and 47 per cent in the second. Something over 80 per cent of the consumption of red meat is represented by beef, 1? per cent by pork, and the small remaining balance by mutton and goat meat." /FIGURE II E/CM.12/558 Page 54 FIGURE VENEZUELA .IÍ-^ Í N D I C E S OF OF APPARENT MEAT AND {INDICES CONSUMPTION MILK ¡951 AND PRODUCTS = VVEIGHTED PRICES A^ 100) SEM)-LOGAR ITHMIC SCALE 250 CONSUMPTION i— MILK OF PRODUCTS 200 H - CONSUMPTION OF MEAT / 150 MEAT MILK 100 PRICES PRODUCT PRICES S'd 80 1951 a._J M E A T : B E E F - B U T T E R AND 52 53 AND P O R K . CHEESE. 55 MILK PRODUCTS: 57 PASTEURIZED 58 MILK, MILK /Table 15 POWDER, E/CN.12/550 Page 55 Table 15 VENEZUELA: C N U P I N OF R D líEAT, T T L A D PER CAPITA, O S M TO ' E OA N T IJjé-jS a/ O (Annual averages) 1950-52 (thoueands of tons) 15-5 535 15-8 965 8 1 . 0 8 8 . 0 (ioo.o) (loe.é) Beef ¿5.8 71.8 7 0 . 2 96.9 Pork 14.1 1 5 . 2 17.6 2 0 . 8 Index Mutton 0.37 0.77 0.63 ( 1 1 7 . 3 ) 0 . 3 7 Goat meat 1 1 9 . 3 Psr capita oonsumption, all meats (kllograiames) Index 1 7 . 2 8 ( 1 0 0 . 0 0 ) 1 7 . 1 6 ( 9 9 . 3 0 ) (147.3) 0 . 4 5 • 0.53 0 . 7 5 1 . 0 5 16.94 19.45 ( 9 8 . 0 3 ) ( 1 1 2 . 5 6 ) Beef Í v. 1 t 1I 0 + 1. I I'^.OO Perk 3.00 2 . 9 6 3a4 3.39 Mutton 0 . 0 8 0 . 0 7 0 . 0 8 0.09 Goat neat 0 . 1 6 0 J . 3 0.14 0 . 1 7 1 3 . 5 8 1 5 . 6 0 Souroet Data In table 7 and Infornation from the Department of Trade on meat imports, ^ Excluding meat from unregistered slaughterings. /in recent E/CN.12/558 . Page 56 In recent years, total meat consumption has expanded faster than the population, despite the rapid population grovith stimulated by immigration, which means that there has been an increase in per capita consxiaption. The annual changes in per capita consumption in recent years are as follovrs: Year 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 Per capita consumption (kilogrammes) 14.6 17.2 16.0 16.1 14.9 . 15.5 16.4 17.5 16a 17.2 Year Per capita consumption (kilogrammes) 18.4 18.6 16.9 16.3 17.0 17.1 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 17.2 17.4 19.5 21.1 22.0 The lowest average per ca-pita consunxption levels for meat are for the first period, 1939-47; from then on livestock exports were suspended and Venezuela became an importer of meat, especially frozen meat» The greatest volvme of imports was during 1943-50,^^ and there x r s a marked increase in ^a per capita consumption precisely during those three years, Bet^^reen 1951 and 1956, consumption fell off and settled at about 3.7 kilogrammes per person, but in 1957, 1958 and 1959 there was a sharp rise to 19.5, 21 and 22 kilogrammes per person respectively; these rises correspond to the considerable increase in slaughterings recorded for these years, (b) Consumption of milk products The rapid development of Venezuela's economy throughout the period I95O-5Ô ^ a n d the consequent increase in purchasing power also resulted a greater consumption of milk and milk products. Apparent total annual 4,V Carcass weights of chilled meat imported from Argentina in 1948, 1949 and 1950 were 7,300, 7,583 and 5,155 tons respectively. 42/ Between 1950 and 1958, the increase in the gross national product was higher in Venezuela (100 per cent) than in any other Latin American country, and at the same time the population growth attained the high rate of 29 per cent in eight years (Latin American Eusi.ness Highlights, Vol. 10, No,2). /consumption of E/CN.12/558 . Page 57 consumption of milk products, expressed in terms of fluid milk, rose from 5S2 million litres in 1951-52 to 735 million litres in 1956-5S, an increment of 26 per cent equivalent to an annual increase of about 5 per cent (see table 16)* It can be seen from the breakdoxm of. consumption by origin that both domestic production and imports contributed to this improvement. The most remarkable expansion was in the consumption of fluid milk, especially pasteurized milk, which rose from an annual voliime of 22 million litres in 1948-50 to 157 million litres in 1956-58, a sixfold increase. There was also a fairly large increase (62 per cent) in the consumption of preserved milk. The total consumption of butter and cheese, on the other hand, decreased during this period. As the total consumption of milk products grew faster than the population, an increase in per capita consumption vras possible, and this rose from the fluid milk equivalent of 112 litres in 1951-52 to 136 litres in 1956-58, which is an increment of about 22 per cent (see table 16), The rise in per capita consumption was spectacular for pasteurized milk; it was somewhat less, although still considerable, for milk powder and fell for cheese and butter. There was also considerable expansion in the consumption of other foods of animal origin such as eggs and fish; between 1950 and 1956 the total consumption of fish increased by 33 per cent, from 29,439 tons to 39,140 tons, which was the equivalent of a per capita increase from 5.9 to 6.6 kilogrammes, (c) The effect of relative prices As stated previously, increased total and per capita consiomption of livestock products must be attributed not only to the vast growth in the population and to larger incomes, but also to the structure and favourable trends of relative prices. In some Latin American countries, improvement in per capita income has not been reflected in a greater pey capita consumption, because the effect of the additional income has been nullified by the concurrent rise in prices. In Venezuela, however, the relative prices of meat, milk products and eggs have been maintained at a level that encoiirages the greater consumption referred to previously. In recent years relative prices have tended to be fairly stable.and in some cases have fallen. Between 1953 and 1959, for example, and more especially in 1958 and 1959, parity . / Table 16 E/CN.12/558 . Page 58 Table 16 V N Z f i t C N U P I N O MILK E O t C S | IjUB-ÇO TO I956-58 EETfU O S M T O P aD3T,/ 1 9 1 1 6 - 5 0 Total oonsuBptlon, all products ( h u a d of tosns litres) ••• 1 9 5 1 - 5 2 1 9 5 3 - 5 5 . 1 9 5 6 - 5 8 5 8 1 8 6 U 7 3 5 3 6 9 8 3 1 5 1 9 5 9 3 1 1 1 7 ' J - 7 1 5 6 6 7 7 39 21J-3 F u d l l k ( h u u i e of litres) l i al t o s n t 22 228 3 5 P e e v d m l c (tons) r s r e ll 28 55O 31 Cheese (tons) ••• 1 9 Butter (tons) 4 14 3- Per capita oonsuuption, all p o u t (litres) rdcs ,,, F u d milk (litres) li P e e v d m l i (l^orramrnGS) r s r a il Cheese (kilogramnes) Butter ( i o f r m s ) kl/tams '•í.éo O i l ,• 3 799 OE .é 3 ' 1^19 9 1 3 1 9 3 6 5 3 58«í 1 1 1 . 8 5 1 3 1 . 1 0 1 3 5 . 5 6 6 . 1 + 7 1 9 . 9 2 2 5 . 5 ^ S.O ••• 2 1 lí l2 5 3 0 1 ( 6 . 7.0 . 7 . 6 5 3 . 7 5 3 . 7 7 3 . 1 5 C . 7 3 0 . 6 1 0 . 5 8 Stj»e Data fron table 9 a d i f r n t o f o t e I l i t y of Agriculture a d thô D p r m n of o;|o; . n notain r m h fnsr n eatet Trade of the Mnistry of Development, respectively, on i p r s d r i g I ^ ô j a d m o t uii jt^ô n 15 -8 5 65 , a/ All milk products are e p e s d in terms of the in f u d milk equivalent, c l u r t d with the xrse li acl.e c n e s o f c o s given in table J. ovrin atr /prices of * E/CN.12/558 Pàge 59 prices of pasteurized milk showed no substantial rise in relation to the general xíholesale price level of 82 articles; on the contrary, in 1954, 1955 and 1956 they fell, and in 1957, 1958 and 1959 they renained stable. It is to this favourable development for the consmer that the spectacular rise in annual per capita consumption - from 6.47 litres in 1951-52 to 25.5 litres in 1956-58 - must be attributed. The prices of milk powder, a very popular food in Venezuela, have also remained at a favourable level and have even fallen in recent years. Per capita consumption, variations which h.ave alre^idy been referred to, has expanded every year. The trend towards low relative prices also applies to butter, cheese and eggs since 1954. Because of the marked substitution effect as between milk products, there was a decrease in the per capita consumption of butter and cheese, despite their lower relative prices because of plentiful supplies on the world market and smaller domestic demand. With respect to meat, the increase in per capita consumption in 1957, 1958 and 1959 w^s also appreciable, rising from 17.4 kilogrammes in 1956 to 19.5, ¿1 and 22 respectively in 1957, 1958 and 1959. Although there were rises in the relative prices of pork and beef, especially beef, these i r r only at the modest airniml rate of 1 or 2 per cent, compared with iee an annual increase of 6 per cent in per capita national income^^ during the period 1950-58 as a whole, and of 9 per cent during 1957 and 1958, when there was also higher per capita consuiaption, (See figure III.). The highest levels of per capita available income are for the more populous States and towns - Zulia and the Federal District where per capita demand, supply and consmption of meet are all higher. 2. Breakdown of consumption by origin (a) Meat It can be seen from table 17 that imports made no significant contribution to meat consuinption except during the three-year period 1948-50, ^íhen a annual average of 6,679 tons of frozen Argentine meat were imported„ In subsequent years these imports v;ere suspended and Vene These are compound rates of increase of per capita national income, not available income, which for 1957 was calculated by the Central Bank as 1,773 bolívares compared vjith a per capita national income of 2,545 bolívares. /FIGURii III E/CN.12/55B f^ge 60 FIGURE VENEZUELA III : CURVES OF PARITY PRICES OF FOODS OF ANIMAL O R I G I N RELATION T O THE GENERAL PRICE CURVE = ¡00 (INDICES 1951 NATURAL = IN 100) SCÍ.LE FRESH BEEF 120 15 PASTEURISED MILK 10 PORK 105 GENERAL PRICES = 100 100 - MILK POWDER / BUTTER 95 90 CHEESE 85 EGGS 0 •— 1951 SOURCE : 52 PRICE OF 5^ 53 INDICES AND 55 WHOLESALE 56 PRICES 57 PUBLISHED 59 58 BY THE DEPARTMENT STATISTICS, /Table 1? E/CN.12/55Ô pggi3 a Table 17 VENEZUELA: BREAKDOXíK OP CONSOMPTIúN OP Í!EAT A I MILX PRCBUCTS BY OrjGIlI, ÍD 1 9 I 4 8 - 5 0 Í 0 1 5 5 6 - 5 8 (Average ann-j.al percentafe) 1951-52 Domestioproduotion Imports Red meat 92.3 7.7 Poultry 81^.0 lá.O F.O Ji+.O Dot.-ostie production Milk powder Cheese Butter ííhole ndlk ••• 41.5 ••• IB>» ports Domestic production O.á 8 5 . 1 b'.8 I95S-53 1953-55 99.9 14.9 ICO.O IK lports 0.1 y Domestic production CO. Q 100.0 Imports 0 . 1 y 90.7 io„5 8 9 . 5 75.2 2 3 . 8 6 2 , 0 3 8 . 0 93.2 9 . 3 78.4 2 1 . 55.5 30.8 6 1 . 2 74.9 2 5 . 1 53.2 é . 8 y •'+1.3 58.7 4 9 . 3 50.7 47. b 52.4 y i Source; Tables I5 and I6 a r .data on iicportc from the lanistries of Agriculture end Developmairt. nl ^ Imports amo'jnted to Isi-s than Ool per cent of total eons'Jüiption» Annual Inports were 2 ^ky tons for the tliree-year period comparad vith 1- 220 tons during I55I-52. 4 2/ Annual imports of preservad milk, cheese and buttor aV8raged31fc litres (in to^-ms of fluid mill;) in I5U8-5O, /Venazuelan consumption E/GN.12/558 Page 62 Venezuelan consumption of red meat came to depend almost entirely on domestic production, except for small imports of prepared, dried and salted meats and the illegal entry of livestock for food. Before 1952, about 15 per cent of the poultry consumed cane from North America and Europe; since 1952 there-has been a substantial cut in these imports and their present contribution to consumption is negligible (b) Milk products It can be seen from the last column in table 1? and from figure IV that more than half the total consumption of milk products - e:cpressed in terms of fluid milk - is supplied by large imports of milk pcvíder, cheese and butter, especially of the first two. This means that there is wide scope for import substitution, develoraiient of better quality products and reduction of costs, in order to place the domestic product on a better footing to compete with imports. Up to a few years ago most of the consuiiiption of preserved milk \ias suppliod by imports, Altnough domestic production of milk powder is expanding, it is still far from enough to meet the growing demand for this item; in 1956-58 domestic production supplied only about a tenth of consvffiiption. Obviously the production of dried milli in Venezuela could be rapidly expanded, since there is an extensive market for it. As things are, however, it appears difficult to restrict, far less eliminate, foreign competition; this could only be done by (a) reducing domestic px-oduclion costs, (b) aiuending the trade treaty vdth the United States and (c) altering the quota proportion^^ or replacing it altogether by other measures of protection and encouragement. In view of the high price at which milk is sold in Venezuela, the duty of 50 cénti'Tios per kilogramme on imports of milk powder under the treaty with the United States is not a sufficient tariff restriction to discourage imports. duty would merely result in higher consumer prices. A higher import It sliould be noted that the exemption from duty of the imported product through the quota On 23 June 1960, the quota proportion was reduced to 4:1; two weeks earlier it had been reduced to 4»5 si. •/FIGURE IV E/CN.12/55Ô I ^ g e 63 FIGURE VENEZUELA IV : PERCENTAGE D I S T R I B U T I O N OF CONSUMPTJON OF WHOLE MILK PRODUCTS, 1 9 5 1 - 5 2 , 1953-55 AND 1 9 5 6 - 5 8 NATURAL SCALE IMPORTS DOMESTtC PRODUCTION too 1 90 CHEESE MILK POWDER WHOLE MILK BUTTER f 80 70 60 50 30 20 10 0 1951-52 53-55 56-58 51-52 53-55 56-58 51-52 56-58 53-55 51-52 56-58 53-55 /system is E/CN.12/55â Page é4 system is a purely fictional measure. The importer does not in fact buy 1 kilogramme of domestic milk poxvder for every 4 kilograittnes he imports J he actually takes the duty upon himself, because, ursder the existing regulations, he is obliged to sell the domestic product for 37 per cent less than he pays for it. What happens is that he pays the domestic producer 29 bolívares for every 6 cases of milk pwder he imports. The importer raises the price of the imported product to make up the loss. If he cannot do this, he pays the import duty and becomes free of the quota restrictions. So long as the present import system remains in force, any reduction of the quota ratio will favour the domestic product, but at the same time the importer will prefer to pay the duty rather than bxoy the national product or else to replace milk powder imports with cheese, for instance. In practice it is difficult to determine the most appropriate proportion between, domestic output and imports, bec9,use of variations in the former. The consumption of cheese is also largely supplied by imports, and this tendency has become more marked in recent years. Thus, whereas in 1951-52 21 per cent of consiimption was represented by iraports, in 1956-5^ the percentage rose to 3Ô, This change, which coincided, as explained previously, with a decline in per capita consumption, was obviously due to the reduction in domestic output that began in 1957, to the import substitution effect previously referred to and to the much higher quality of the foreign product. With respect to butter consumption, table 17 shows that there has been a marked change in favour of domestic production, since, whereas eight years ago more than half the consumption was supplied by imports, in 1956~5S "the average contribution of imports had been reduced to 7 per cent. This change was due to an increase in domestic production - especially after 1956 which was further stimulated in 1958 by an extension of the subsidy to milk for butter making, the existence of surpluses and a falling-off in denand accompanied by a drop in per capita consumption. 45/ In fact the import contribution was even higher, since the figures for domestic output include butter made with imported cream. /There is E/CNel2/55Ô ?a.ge 65 There is also a considerable dependence on imports as regards other foods of animal origin. This applies to eggs, for v/hich purchases abroad averaged 16,000 tons a year in 1955-56, which was approximately 56 per cent of the total available for cortôxmiption,^'^ 3, Comparative consumption and nutritional aims (a) Comparative consumption Table 18 compares the per capita consumption of meat, milk, eggs and fish in a number of Latin American and European countries. It can be seen that the annual average per capita consumption of meat of livestock of alD. types (excluding poultry) in Venezuela is barely 21 kilogrammes, which is one of the lowest levels in Latin America, As stated previously, per capita supplies of meat have improved in recent years, but there is still a deplorable degree of under-consumption, both in relation to recomendable nutritional standards and, even more, in relation to the great demand in Venessuela for most foods of animal origin. The consiamption of milk products, on the other hand, has expanded more rapidly, so that the Venezuelan consumer is relatively well situated by comparison with the extremely low levels of consumption in such other Latin American countries as Brazil, Colombia, Honduras, Mexico and Peru, Per capita consrjmption of eggs and fish is also relatively high in Venezuela, especially compared ndth that in other Latin American countries; this applies especially to fish, for which the per capita consumption is higher than in any other Latin American country except Chile, (b) Nutritional aims Despite the theoretical nature of nutritional standards of consumption compared with the variety of factors that determine actual per capita consumption, it is important to compare figures of actual consumption 46/ Archivos Venezolanos de nutrición. Janizary I960, /Table 18 E/CNa2/55Ô Page 66 Table l8 COMPARATIVE CONSIKPTION OF POODS OP ANIMAL ORIOIM IN SELECTED COUNTHIES (Annual per capita average In kllogranmies) Red meats e/ MlUc b/ Eggs 0/ Pish e/ Argentina 90 251 6 2 Brazil 30 65 5 2 Chile 27 5 13 Colombia 2 7 3 2 Dennark 65 8 13 i'rance 56 Netherlands iw Hondiiras 17 Mexico 2 1 Paragusor 59 83 Peru 1 6 k7 United States 7 0 261+ 104 2 2 7 Uruguay Venezuela 2 1 1 1 6 72 2 1 2 1 0 6 9 6 6k k 2 74 k 2 3 2 23U d/ e/ 135 2 1 7 2 / 5£/ 5 1 66 g/ Spxipce; Meats ECLA, on the baois of official figures, and United States Department of Agriculture, Foreign Crops and Markets, World Summaries; Crops and Livestock (29 September I960), Milk: United Nations, The role of agricultural commodities In a Latin American regional market (E/CN,12/t99), Eggs and fish: PAO, froductlon Yearbook 1^58. a/ 1959-59; kilogrammes of carcass meat of beef, pork, mutton and goat meat; the figures do not Include the consumption of meat represenbed by In situ slaughterings, ^ 195't-56i mllJi and milk products expressed In terms of fluid milk, c/ and 195'4-56. d/ 1957'58j this Includes estimated consumption of meat from In situ slaughterings, 2/ 1957-5?. tj 1956-5?. g/ 1956: fresh fish (Archivos Venezolanos de Nutrlolfa, January 15<'0)» /with the E/CM.12/55Ô I ^ g e 6? with the nutritional standards reconmended for the Venezuelan consumer, since this is the only way of quantifying the deficit of various foods of animal origin in tems of the consumption reconrnerried for a balanced diet adapted to local conditions. What is mainly lacking in the consumption of red meat is beef, for which annual per capita consumption should be about 5 kilogrammes, which would represent an increase of 31 per cent over the present level of consumption. per person. Consumption of pork should be stepped up by about 1 kilogramme For fresh fish, too, the recommended level is far higher (51.5 per cent) than actual consumption in recent years (see table 1^). Although at present no nutritional recommendations are available for mutton and goat meat, the present per capita levels of constmiption seem to be in line with the dietary habits of the average consumer. With respect to milk products, nutritional requirements could probably be met by raising the present level of consmption (in terms of fluid milk) by about a third, 4, Pro.^ections of demand In the last few years there have been fundamental changes in Venezuela's economy. There is rapid growth both of industrial and urban development and also of population and national income, A major change is also expected in the livestock sector, as a result both of developments and trends in other sectors and of new policies aimed at improving methods of agricultural production and raising the rural population's standard of living. All these changes are likely to have a more or less direct influence in future on the supply of and demand for livestock products. Hence it would be both at least difficult if not hazardous to attempt to predict what consumption is likely to be during the next five or ten years. It canrast be foreseen what new price structure is likely to emerge, or what changes there will be in import trade, which could have a iiHrked effect on demand and actual consumption. It is true that certain principles can be postulated, and certain tendencies assumed in the factors determining demand, as a basis for projecting the many alternative forms that future demand might take. Thus future production and supply requirements /Table 19 E/CN.12/558 Page 6Ô Table I9 VENESUEU: RECOMMENDED NtTTRITIOHAL STANDJIRDS AND DEFICIT IN THE PER OAPITA CONSDKFTION CP POODS OF AHBIAL ORIGBi Re oonmended Actual oonsimiptlon ooRsumptlon Kilogrammes Beef 15.80 Pork 3.39 Mutton and goat meat 0 . 2 6 Eggp 0 / Percentage é.6o «i. 92 31.14 I+.U2 1.03 3 0 . 3 8 0 . 2 6 - l.éO Poultry Milk Kllogranimes Z^.iJO Red meat, total Plsh¿/ Deficit 0,25 2 0 . 7 2 - 1 8 . 5 2 51-52 1 0 , 0 0 1 3 5 . 0 0 5 . 2 5 Source; Tables and I8 and data from the Natioml Institute of Nutrition (Instituto Haelonal d» Nutrlel(?H) on reooHaended nutritional standards of eonsuniptlon for Venezuela, 1956-58 average, b/ Fresh fish, IJjé, 0/ 1956-57 aversgs. /could be E/CN.12/558 Page 69 could be estiinated and targets fixed for the execution of development programmes. Published studies on Venezuela's livestock industry include some projections of the demand for meat in 1964 and 196?, but they need to be brought up to date and modified in the light of the consumption levels attained in the last few years and of recent and foreseeable trends in population, available income, elasticity of demand and relative prices. New projections of demand woxild give a potential arai probable future coi2sumption much higher than that calculated previously. New projections are not included in this study, it being considered more relevant, from the standpoint of analysis at least, to compare the figures for projected demand vrith those recorded for actual consumption in 195Ô, for example (see table 20 and figure V), Actual consumption in 1958 exceeded almost all the projections of demand for that year, being 33 per cent higher than the most pessimistic projection (projection (a)) and 18 per cent higher than the figure for one of the most optimistic projections (projection (b)), which is based on a completely elastic supply and consequently a stable price level. Projection (c) calls for comment, however brief, because it is the only figvire for projected consumption for 1958 that exceeds actual consumption for that year. This was not so much an economic projection as an estimate of, potential consumption, on the. assumption that the desirable nutritional standard covild be met for beef, namely nearly 21 kilogrammes per person, which was 7 kilograinmes more than the average level for the three-year period 1954-56, It must be admitted that such a large estimated increase was unrealistic. Effective corsumption in 1958 also proved appreciably higher than the figures in the last three projections, despite the assumption of a much higher population growth than was in fact the case (6,3 million in 1958). On the other hand, the annual average increase in net per capita incon® was estimated at only 3 per cent, and the coefficient of inccane-elasticity of demand adopted was only 0.6, although consumer habits, the low level of constmiption and certain surveys seem to indicate that it might well be between 0,8 and 0,9. /Table 20 E/CNel2/55â Page VO Table 20 VEMiSZüEUí PnOJSCTED DíMAHD POR i f A AI® ACTUAL CONSUMPTION, 1958 fiT Projection Aotual consumption Projected demand Tons Difference betvreen projected and aotual consumption (percentage) y (a) Estimated population (6.09 million) and per capita consumption 1939-52 8 3 2 1 0 n o 3 0 0 (b) Conswnption trend, 1939-52 85 8 0 9 1 1 0 3 0 0 2Uk 1 1 0 3 0 0 . 1 2 . 6 3 2 . 6 - 2 8 , 5 (c) Estimated population (¿«09 million) and nutritional target of 20.72 kg par person 126 (d) Estimated populatiisi (6.82 million) and stable consumption of 13.3 kg per person 9 0 59^ 1 1 0 3 0 0 2 1 . 8 (e) Estimated population (6.82 million), average consumption in 195'<*-56 (13.3 kg per person) and annial increases of 0.677 due to higher Inocme 91 160 1 1 0 3 0 0 2 1 . 0 + (f) Population growth of 1 per cent (6.82 million for 1958)} averagi consumption In 195IU56 and annjial increase of 1,8 per cent due to higher income; elastic dãnand and constant prices 93 200 1 1 0 3 0 0 1 8 , 3 Souroet Plgjires for projections (a), (b) and (c) ore from La industria ganadera en Venezuela^ op, ©it,, and those for projections (d), (a) and (f) from La indttstrla ganadera dé earna en Venezuela, op»^ oit. The figures for aotual consumption are taken from table 7» /FIGURE V M E/CN.12/55Ô Page 73. FIGURE V VENEZUELA : PROJECTED AND A C T U A L C O N S U M P T I O N OF NATURAL BEEF SCALE ACTUAL CONSUMPTION 10 100 90 C O N S U M P T I O N AS A F U N C T I O N OF T H E T R E N D 8o C O N S U M P T I O N AS A F U N C T I O N OF P O P U L A T I O N GROWTH 70 Ó0 FROM 1953 A C T U A L C O N S U M P T I O N CAN BE S E E N TO D I V E R G E FROM PROJECTED CONSUMPTION 50 ho U i i I 1939 SOURCE y - I 19^5 : F I G U R E N - 7 I N L A I N D U S T R I A GANADERA OF A C T U A L C O N S U M P T I O N FOR I 9 5 3 " 5 ^ » PROJECTIONS FOR B A S E D ON A C T U A L TOTAL I9áO 1955 1950 EN V E N E Z U E L A ^ AND PER CAPITA OP, 1964 CIT., CONSUMPTION 1939-52. /At present PLUS DATA E/CN.12/55Ô Page 73. At present there is no adequate information on which to base a quantitative estiiaate of the relative effect of factors that uàght have led to such an unforeseen increase in consumption. However, it can be assumed a priori that the relatively larger volume of (and hence more elastic) supply had the greatest effect. The comparatively small rise in parity p r i c e s , d e s p i t e severe restrictions on meat imports and free market prices, appears to confirm that supply was the major factor in improving levels of consumption. ¿2/ The current prices of livestock and meat in Venezuelan markets, compared with those in Colombia, are a strong encouragement to smuggling, /V, FOHEIGN TRADE E/CN.12/55Ô Page 73. V. FOREIGN TRADE IN LIVESTOCK PHODUCTS Venezuela is the principal Latin American importer of products of animal origin, especially fooctstuff. The steady rise in demand caused by high growth rates of population aral income has increased the country's dependence on the import trade in the last few years, at least with respect to a nuniber of milk products. This has happened despite the policy of self-sufficiency repeatedly advocated and despite measures restricting imports, whose effect has been nullified by the nature and increasing extent of effective demand. Although a policy of development and protection of domestic livestock production has been pursued, its growth has been less than the rate of increase in consumer trends resulting from Venezuela's greater economic development and from consequently greater purchasing power. These circumstances have influenced the structure and composition of foreign trade in animal products, producing changes which are briefly analysed below, 1. Meat imports In earlier years, Venezuela was an exporter of l i v e s t o c k , b u t the growing requirements of domestic consumption not only led to the suspension of exports in 1947, but also obliged Venezuela in subsequent years to resort to increasing imports of livestock for food and various kinds of frozen meat. Thus, in the three-year period 1948-50 Venezuela imported an annual average of 5,642 tons of meat, representing an average value of 13.2 million bolívares. •I Although the purchase of large quantities of beef were suspended in subsequent years, as in the case of poultry (see table 21), Venezuela was still obliged to import beef cattle for more or less immediate consumption and, more recently, to import frozen meat, although only as a tençiorary measure. Some years ago there were substantial imports of poultry, but these have now been restricted. 48/ In 1934-38, annual exports of cattle averaged 27,000 head, /Table 21 E/CNa2/55Ô Page 74 T8.bl9 21 VENEZUELA: VOLOÍ® AMD VALUS OP DIPORTS OP FOODS OP ANIMAL ORIGIN, 19l<8-50 TO 1956-58 (Aimual averages) Pood I9U8-5O Meat a/ Poultry 1 1 9 5 1 - 5 2 5 Preserved milk Value (thousands of bolivars) Volume (toiis) 821 2 8 91"+ Cheese 2 947 Butter 2 lt20 2 836 - • •• 3 555 Lard 5 2 0 2 Eggs 7 1 1 3 U 420 1 0 552 3 5 604 5 025 2 3 41 9 8 2 73S5 2 1953-55 1956-58 2 4 4 • •• • •• 174 7 582 572 93 101 7 0 7 4 o 7 3 164 8 7 436 9 5 0 1 8 8 795 1 0 9 0 6 1 3 178 1 8 1 1 1 3 358 1 074 3 904 b/ 5 OOé 19 371 Total 8 950 - • •• 056 37^ éoi+ 13 473 1951-52 11 343 8 5 8 1ÍÍ08 y 1 9 4 8 - 5 0 1 3 19 1251 2 2 f i 1 9 5 6 - 5 8 55 5 1 6 2 7 Cx^am 1 9 5 3 - 5 5 6 907 1 5 556 1 3 4 1 6 7 4 1 6 1 21 470 483 7 1 0 2 3 2 8 2 123 223 c/ 131 961 d/ 3 6 1S6 42) Soupoes Department of Trade of the Ministry of Development. a/ Chllledp frozen and dried meat and meat In containers, not including ham, sausages and prepared meats, b/ 1955. 0/ Not including me&t and cream. ã/ Not including meat. /2. Imports of 454 E/CN.12/558 Page 75 2. Imports of nálk products Milk products are the m i n item in the import tradej in the threeyear period 1956-58, their average annual value was 119.2 bolívares which was 76 per cent of the total value of purchases of foods of animal origin. One of the main items is preserved milk, for which the volume of imports expanded by 54 per cent between 1948-50 and 1956-58. There has als«i been a sizable increase in imports of cheese and cream in recent years, amounting in the case of cheese to 150 per cent. On the other hand, there was a marked drop in the volume of butter imports, 3. Other foods of animal origin During the base period, annual imports of lard reached an average of 5,202 tons, with a value of nearly 7 million bolívares. In 1951-52, imports were lower, although still considerable, but in subsequent years they declined because of a preference for vegetable oils and fats, and during the three-year period 1956-58 amounted to only 604 tons. There was a marked upward movement in egg imports, the increase for the period under examination being 172 per cent. In 1956-58, the annual value of egg imports was 36.4 million bolívares and they stood next in importance to milk products, 4. Origin of imports (a) Meat In recent years - 1958, for instance most imports have come from the United States, which supplies 80 per cent of the total imports of chilled, frozen and other (unspecified) meat. The remaining 20 per cent is imported from Spain, New Zealand, the Netherlands and other coiintries. Poultry imports also come mainly from the United . States, but there are imports on a smaller scale from Canada, Curaçao and Denmark, (b) Milk products Venezuelan imports of preserved milk and cheese come from many different countries, but mainly from Canada, Demark, the Netherlands , and the United States. Very little is imported from other Latin American countries, except for Argentine cheese (see table 22), /Table 20 E/CNa2/55â Page 76 Table 22 VEíEZUEUt BñKAKDOWN OF MPORTS OP PRESERVED MILK Ai® CHEESE BY ORIGIN, l^US-^J AM) I958 (Percentage) MAlk powder Country of origin I9W-U9 Volme Value Volume - Argentina •• - Canada 0 . 8 0.5 Colombia «* 0 . 1 0 . 1 Italy - - Netherlands 0.7 0 . 6 1 9 U 8 Value - Dennark Cheese 1958 United States 9 8 . 0 S8.0 23.0 - Volume 30.0 2 6 . 0 1 9 5 8 Value 22,0 Volvime Value llf.O 1 6 , 0 - - Q.5 0.3 - 1 . 0 1 . 0 2 8 . 0 2 1 . 0 m 0.2 0 . 2 15.0 2 1 . 0 2 2 . 0 1 6 . 8 Ul.o 48.0 25.0 2 1 . 0 3^.0 Ui.o 2 5 . 0 2 6 . 0 15.0 17.0 18.7 - ll+.é Source; iteuarlos de Es-tadfstloa. Marcantl,! y Marftlma and Boletfo Mensual de Estadística, No.12, /Between 1948 - E/CN,12/55S Page 77 Betvreen 194Õ and 1953, there wei'e considerable changes in the provenance of these imports. In 1948, purchases of milk powder and cheese in Denmark made up only a smalLl proportion of the total, but in recent years they have increased substantially. The same applies to imports of preserved milk from the Netherlands, but not to purchases of Dutch cheese; the relative volume of imported Dutch cheese has shrunk considerably, from 41 per cent in 1948 and 62 per cent in 1952 to 25 per cent in 1958. Although the bulk of these imports, particularly preserved milk, still come from the United States, that country's relative contribution has declined in recent years. Before 1950, practically all the milk powder imported by Venezuela came from the United States. The tendency has been to expand the import trade with the other countries mentioned - such as Denmark and the Netherlands - where the relation between volume and price is more favourable for the Venezuelan importer. In 1948, no Italian cheese was bought, whereas in 1958 they constituted 21 per cent of the total volume, Canada is also an important source of milk powder imports (23 per cent of the total volume in 1958, conpared with less than 1 per cent in 1948-49). Venezuelan imports of butter are supplied mainly by Argentina, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United States, which together contribute 99 per cent of the total. In 1958 Denmark shipped 82 per cent of the imported cream; the remaining 18 per cent came from the Netherlands and the United States. 5. Imports restrictions Generally speaking, there are no direct restrictions on livestock imports, apart from customs d u t i e s Y e t , the restrictive effect of the duties has grown weaker as the consumer's purchasing power has become stronger and costs and domestic prices have risen. Furthermore, there are no exchange restrictions of any kind, nor any preferential trade apart from that resulting from the most-favoured-nation clause included in a nvimber of trade treaties. Nor are there quantitative restrictions, except for the quota system that applies to milk powder imported free of duty. 49/ Specific duties in bolívares per kilogramme: butter 2.20; cheese 1,20; United States Cheedar 1,00; cream 1.20; and preserved milk 0,50. /Nevertheless, in E/CNJ.2/55Ô Page 7Ô Nevertheless, in practice import licences and prior authorization have a considerable restrictive effect. For condensed milk, for example, an import licence from the Ministry of Development is required in advance; for ham, impoJrts are authorized only to the extent necessary to make up the deficit betiveen consuuption and domestic production, and at present commercial imports of butter are prohibited on the grounds that domestic output is sufficient to supply consumer needs. /VI, LIVESTOCK E/CN,12/558 Page 79 VI, LIVESTOCK DEVELOPifflT AND PROSPECTS OF EXPANSION 1. Livestock development programmes This is not the place to give a detailed account of the various campaigns and services organized by various official bodies in Venezuela, * J but mention should be made of some programmes of livestock development undertaken by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and of the great ejqjansion of livestock credit provided by the Banco Agrícola y Pecuario, With respect to production problems, the Livestock Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock ccaicentrated on eliminating factors that limit productivity and on encouraging, at the same time, the more rapid expansion of the livestock population. Reference has already been made to the favourable effect of technical services for the diagnosis of animal diseases, the control of epizootics, the prevention and treatment of livestock diseases and pests, the control of animal movements, border and port inspection, and technical assistance; all these services are carried out through the 63 veterinary stations and the special animal health campaigns, with the co-operation of other veterinary and research services. As a result of these campaigns, it has been possible to control many livestock and poultry diseases and to reduce the resulting deaths and other losses to the livestock economy. There has also been considerable progress in other aspects of the livestock industry, such as genealogical-^^ and milk production records, ty studies on cattle fattening and programmes for industrial slaughterhouses. , The importing of improved breeds and the channelling of livestock credit into technically worthy activities, for both of which the Livestock Department is responsible, deserve special mention for their favourable impact on the development of Venezuela's livestock industry. Mention has already been made of the Livestock Development Plan, operating through credit, as an outstandingly important measure 50/ Of the Zebu, Holstein,'Brown Swiss, Jersey, Charolais, Santa Gertrudis, Guernsey, Pura Criolla Lechera, Brangus and Charbray breeds, there were only 65 cattle registered in 1950, compared with 2,133 in 1958 and 1,391 in the first half of 1959. /destined to E/CN.12/55Ô Page 73. destined to have favourable effects on future meat production in Venezuelaj this plan constitutes a very valuable contribution to the General Land Reform Plan, which is already being carried out. The Agriculture Department has also inqjroved and extended its campaigis and research on grasses, preservation of fodder, livestock nutrition, promotion of poultry raising, selection of criollo breeds and comparative studies of foreign breeds. At the Experimental Centres of Maracay and Sanare, intensive research is being conducted on the cultivation and yield of various grasses and legumes for fodder» The Crop and Livestock Programming Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock is organizing and promoting series of studies and activities to supplement Government action with respect to livestock and animal products. Increasing attention is being devoted to economic studies and statistical analyses of the production, distribution, processing and consumption of these products. The Venezuelan Land Reform Act is one of the principal measures adopted recently for the benefit of crop and stock farmers and the rural population in general. Far-reaching changes in the country's agrarian structure are expected, since the reform was conceived as an integrated whole and is intended not only to ensure fulfilment of the social obligations entailed by rural land ownership, by regulated land tenure and requiring efficient land use by the owners, but also to conserve and develop natural resources, raise the rural worker's standard of living, encourage the organization of agricultural co-operatives, extend credit facilities for small and medium producers, to establish rational methods of storage, transport, preservation, processing and distribution of products, and to guarantee minimum prices for the producer. Consequently, it is reasonable to e 3 ) c :Qet great advances in the livestock sector in the future, through the organization of production in intensive economic units that are intended to replace the inefficient extensive type of stock farming that is often found on large farms with fertile arable soil, /2, Future livestock I: ' E/CK.12/55e Page Ô1 2, Futui'e livestock expansion It is not possible to make even an approximate quantitative estimate of the future increases in livestock production that will result from the livestock credit plan, the current land reform programme and other Government and private activities aimed at developing the livestock ^ industry. From the short'^term and almost certainly also from the medixam-term f , standpoint, Venezuela will have to continue making up the deficit in its livestock production by importing various animal products, especially milk products. The low per capita consumption of essential foods of animal origin and the steadily rising purchasing power of the Venezuelan consumer, especially in the large towns, will continue to stimulate the demand for milk and meat. Domestic production cannot be expected to meet consumer requirements within the next few years. Hence increases in effective demand will probably continue to be met partly by imports, which will obviate sharp price increases leading to restrictions on consumption for the lovrer-income groups. In practice it is sometimes difficult to determine what volxime of imports will be consistent with the interests of domestic production and will not involve major changes in the structure and level of domestic prices. In any case, the development of existing self-sufficiency programmes in Venezuela with respect to cattle and other livestock products calls for the encouragement and protection of domestic production by appropriate regulation of import ç t trade. On a long-term basis, however, it can confidently be asserted that I Venezuela can count on a level of livestock production sufficient to supply the domestic market at higher per capita levels of consumption, if the present steady impetus to the livestock sector is maintained. Very substantial increases in production are planned, both through extending the area devoted to livestock and enlarging the herds and also through raising productivity. This, in turn, will make it possible to improve the output-input ratio and thus to get a better return on the capital and labour that goes into the livestock economy. In conclusion, it should be pointed out that if profits and returns on livestock and /and related E/Cíl ..12/550 Pa.ee 82 and related activities do not improve in relation to other sectors of the economy, the rate of production in the livestock industry m i l remain insufficient to meet the steady expansion of effective demand resulting from high purchasing power. There is every reason to expect that Government action will continue to provide the required incentives and tü encourage a rate of livestock development fully consistent with the growth in other sectors of Venezuela's economy. 9)