Logjam hits Colombia trade; Trucks with tons of goods bound for Colombia are said to be stuck at the border

Caracas Daily Journal (Jeremy Morgan): Even though President Hugo Chávez has reached some sort of peace with his opposite number in Colombia, Alvaro Uribe, trade across the border with Venezuela is reported to still be at a standstill. The problem, it seems, is bureaucratic procedures, which wouldn't be for the first time during fast-moving political developments. And the chief casualties ap-pear to be Venezuelan shipments to Colombia, rather than goods going the other way.

Venezuelan Exporters Association President Francisco Men-doza says shipments of Venezuelan products across the border have been paralyzed since March 4. Chávez and Uribe called off their spat at the Rio Group summit on March 1, but it appears that officialdom has yet to catch up with the news.

The most important crossing point is San Antonio del Táchira, where an estimated 70 percent of bilateral trade is carried out. An estimated half of all the goods exported by Venezuela to Colombia are taken over the border there. Colombia accounts for around a fifth of total Venezuelan exports.Reports from San Antonio said that some 3,000 tons of Venezuelan products were stuck in trucks there, unable to go over the frontier. Mendoza indicated the same situation applied elsewhere on the border.

The problem, it's said, primarily lies at the Light Industries and Trade Ministry. Officials there are said to have been slow off the mark in handing out "certificates of origin" proving that the goods in question are of Venezuelan origin. This measure was introduced in response to food shortages in Venezuela.

At the time, reports claimed large shipments of food were being smuggled across the border because suppliers could obtain higher prices in Colombia. Normally, Colombia numbers among key sources of food imported into Venezuela. Mendoza said there didn't seem to be many problems with Colombian goods crossing over into Venezuela.

Daniel Montealegre, president of the Venezuelan-Colombian Economic Integration Chamber (Cavecol) said on Wednesday that it was his understanding on an "unofficial" basis that it was possible the ministry would start issuing the required certificates during the course of that morning. He expressed hope this would unlock the logjam at the border.