In Venezuela, A Land Rich in Coffee, Shortage Strikes

As if the hard-pressed people of Caracas hadn't got enough to put up with -- what with raging inflation and one thing after another vanishing from supermarkets and corner stores like the proverbial hot cakes -- coffee prices have shot up by 55.6% in a week.

That is if you can even find the stuff.

Caraqueños, who are natural grumblers at the best of times and at present have plenty to complain about, do not like paying BsF.18.45 a kilo for their cups of dark relief. A customer whose nerves were clearly in caffiene withdrawal went into a store to buy coffee. On being told there wasn't any, he threw a stack and demanded an explanation of this affront to his person. The storekeeper, who'd probably been under similar seige since opening that morning, merely scratched his head.

Like many basic dietary needs, the price of coffee is set by the government. The coffee industry has been pestering officials for months in an attempt to get the price increased. The campaign was backed up with warnings that shortages could crop up, which they duly began to do.

The Light Industries and Commerce Minustry finally relented by announcing the new price range last Friday. By then, coffee was already becoming hard to find, and by Sunday it had become notably scarce even after the price rise had gone through.