Amid an economic downturn, and despite government plans to encourage exports, Guayana’s basic industries have had to minimize their production due to the severe power crisis hitting Venezuela.
Rodolfo Sanz, the Minister of Basic Industries and Mining, said that the Venezuelan steelmaker Siderúrgica del Orinoco (Sidor) expects a 35 percent decline in exports in 2010.
At the same time, he said that the government guarantees the domestic market that it will supply products and inputs manufactured by the basic industries such as tinplate for cans used in food products (tuna, sardines, etc.) or rebars for construction.
“We will keep shipments to the domestic market. This will be a priority for steelmaker Sidor and aluminum smelters Venalum and Alcasa. Production has been cut because we have reduced power consumption, in order to prevent a collapse in the water levels of Guri dam.â€
