First milk, butter, coffee and cornmeal ran short. Now Venezuela is running out of the most basic of necessities - toilet paper.

Blaming political opponents for the shortfall, as it does for other shortages, the embattled socialist government says it will import 50 million rolls to boost supplies.

That was little comfort to consumers struggling to find toilet paper on Wednesday.

'This is the last straw,' said Manuel Fagundes, a shopper hunting for tissue in downtown Caracas.

'I'm 71-years-old and this is the first time I've seen this.'

One supermarket in the capital on Wednesday was out of toilet paper. Another had just received a fresh batch, and it quickly filled up with shoppers as the word spread.

'I've been looking for it for two weeks,' said Cristina Ramos. 'I was told that they had some here and now I'm in line.'

Economists say Venezuela's shortages stem from price controls meant to make basic goods available to the poorest parts of society and the government's controls on foreign currency.
State-controlled prices - prices that are set below market-clearing price - always result in shortages.

'The shortage problem will only get worse, as it did over the years in the Soviet Union,' said Steve Hanke, professor of economics at Johns Hopkins University.

President Nicolas Maduro, who was selected by the dying Hugo Chavez to carry on his 'Bolivarian revolution,' claims that anti-government forces, including the private sector, are causing the shortages in an effort to destabilize the country.

The government this week announced it would import 760,000 tons of food and 50 million rolls of toilet paper.

Commerce Minister Alejandro Fleming blamed the shortage of toilet tissue on 'excessive demand' built up as a result of 'a media campaign that has been generated to disrupt the country.'

'The revolution will bring the country the equivalent of 50 million rolls of toilet paper,' he was quoted as saying Tuesday by state news agency AVN. 'We are going to saturate the market so that our people calm down.'

Finance Minister Nelson Merentes said the government was also addressing the lack of foreign currency, which has resulted in the suspension of foreign supplies of raw materials, equipment and spare parts to Venezuelan companies, disrupting their production.

'We are making progress ... we have to work very hard,' Merentes told reporters Wednesday.

vandarsar: Venezuela is a sinking ship. They should take a cue from Cuba who is becoming more and more aligned with the west.

Dolly-Parton:
They should use water, its natural... and it saves the trees in the forest

Dolly-Parton:
They should use water, its natural... and it saves the trees in the forest

vandarsar: Venezuela is a sinking ship. They should take a cue from Cuba who is becoming more and more aligned with the west.

Dolly-Parton:
They should use water, its natural... and it saves the trees in the forest

osaass:

Disgusting!!!
And you go on to use same hands eat amala

Adex097: do you use water?

brownlord:

See this village champin wen dey stay inside upper sakponba won form for nairaland, osadolor common park well, like say u no dey use ur yansh rob ground if u kaka finish, nonsence

brownlord:

See this village champin wen dey stay inside upper sakponba won form for nairaland, osadolor common park well, like say u no dey use ur yansh rob ground if u kaka finish, nonsence

osaass:

Disgusting!!!
And you go on to use same hands eat amala

PAGAN 9JA:


use the left hand and then wash with soap/detol.

or else use a bidet.

osaass:

Am sorry even if I get 100 hands I cannot insert my naked hands inside my yansh.
For goodness sake if you guys are so intent on wiping ass with your hands why can't you at least wear gloves