Chavez declares cocoa national “strategic product”

The FINANCIAL — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on October 31 declared cocoa "strategic product' for the national economy, RIA Novosti reported.

Chavez instructed the country's Vice President Elias Jaua to work our and introduce to the parliament a bill related to the issue.

"We must turn Venezuela into the world's leading cocoa producer, so that this product [cocoa] to become the basis of our new economic model," Chavez said.

Experts believe that the statement of the Venezuelan president is related to the current situation on the world cocoa market. Since 2008 the prices on the product has raised due to reductions of supplies from Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire which have produced over 55% of the world cocoa output.