Laura Barros
Caracas, 16 sep (EFE).-the arepa, the typical dish of Venezuelans, has become a new element in the menu of recent disagreements between the Government of President Hugo Chávez and the company Polar, the largest producer of drinks and food in the South American country.
The announcement of the Agency of intellectual property in the country that Polar sold the patent of the popular flour “Pan” to a Canadian company with insinuations about his lack of venezolanidad, and accusations of the company to the Government by the difficulties in the sector fanning the controversy.
The director of the service autonomous of the intellectual property (Sapi), José Villalba, unveiled the Canadian Deutsche Tran Trustee Inc. bought the patent of the flour, the most traditional and important few used to make arepas.
“Are companies that have an address of venezolanidad to all test and there should be coherence between this discourse and its corporate practice.” “But, as we have seen, the capital has no ethics or nationality,” said Villalba on the largest conglomerate in the country, which employs 9,000 people and hires 2,000 suppliers.
According to the official operation allows the company legally obtain foreign currency to pay for the use of the mark, which, he said, have been doing since 2004 other firms who owned brands tradition.
In Venezuela is in force since 2003 an exchange control which restricts and regulates access to currencies, and that keeps the price of the dollar in the equivalent of 4.30 bolivars, quote that doubles the market illegal parallel.
Polar, for its part, said in a statement that this flour “has always been, is and will remain a Venezuelan product” and is produced in plants of the towns of Turmero, Aragua and Chivacoa, Yaracuy (Center).
No reference made to the transaction with the Canadian and, on the other hand, warned that these “surprising statements” seek to create confusion in the millions of consumers and to “divert attention from the problems that currently traverse white corn producers to ensure the national raw”.
Polar alluded to “the difficult situation affecting the precooked flour of corn industry”, which, he said, “happening to loss due to inadequate adjustment of the price of the product recently authorized by the Executive”.
The document explained that the white corn increased its price 30,43% – without specifying the period to which it refers-, while the adjustment approved by the authorities to the corn flour is 20,47%
“The backlog in the prices of the product is not recognized, are prevented from agribusiness to count with a fair return and seriously jeopardizes the viability of the sector,” declared Polar.
The disagreements between the Government and Polar
come from long ago. In November 2010, Chávez accused the owner of that company, Lorenzo Mendoza, of trying to remove him from power, and stated that it was not planned to expropriate in the short term.
“No Polar strike going to topple Chavez”. What “a Polar strike can lie is Mendoza”, said then the ruler on his Sunday program “Aló Presidente”, to answer an alleged challenge of Mendoza.
“I’m going to say one thing, Mendoza: I currently do not have any plan to expropriate Polar;” “I am not interested, at the moment, I don’t know if later”, said Chavez, who in June last year he claimed Polar why their trucks supposedly sold beer in “every corner” of the country.
Polemics include, in addition, the order of the Government in February 2009 to speak the arroceras, including Polar, as well as expropriation, in April of 2010, some barns and land of the conglomerate last January. EFE
