Can you imagine forking over half your income for basic food with prices rising daily? That's the reality for some Venezuelans. Forbes reports that the poorest one-fourth of Venezuelans spend 45 percent of their income on food.
Inflation in Venezuela has long been a problem, but rates have escalated in the last two years. Food prices have been especially hard hit as a result of poor growing conditions as well as government price controls. Soaring inflation meant that food prices increased more than 33 percent from March 2010 to March 2011.
People compensate by substituting eggs and beans for meat, and others wait hours in food subsidy lines. When some staples like milk, cooking oil, beef and sugar sell out of stores, street vendors will sell them at a high premium.
• Venezuelans battling soaring food prices at Forbes
Related: Food Price Index Reaches Highest Recorded Level
(Image: Flickr user blmurch licensed for use under Creative Commons)
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Ah yes, the wonders of socialism.
I've witnessed this firsthand - had to spend days searching for black-market eggs so we could bake a birthday cake for a friend. They were outrageously expensive. We were lucky enough to be able to afford them, but the situation in Venezuela is so so sad.
@ACharmer: there are plenty of very successful socialist countries. The problem with Venezuela is that it is run by a buffoon.
@Matthew- aren't most countries?
Go Hugo.