Venezuela offers $365 mln for aid to poor
(Refiling to change word in second paragraph) (Adds Chavez comment, funding detail)
CARACAS, May 15 (Reuters) - Venezuela's leftist President Hugo Chavez on Thursday offered to spend $365 million of the OPEC nation's record oil income per year on a fund for poor countries as world food and energy prices soar.
Chavez said the funding would kick in when crude prices rose above $100 per barrel. He also said European and Latin American nations should contribute to the program, and called on Europe to cancel the debt of Latin American and Caribbean countries.
"Three hundred sixty-five million dollars a year for a fund that will allow us to produce, buy and distribute food and medicines to the homes of the poorest families," he said at a news conference with foreign journalists.
Chavez was expected to travel to Peru for a summit of Latin American and European leaders that begins on Friday. He may present his aid plan there.
Venezuela, an OPEC member, has already pledged $100 million with other left-wing regional leaders to increase output of staples such as rice, beans and corn.
They hope to stave off protests and political unrest now plaguing nations from Haiti to Bangladesh.
Oil prices at more than $120 a barrel have been a bonanza for oil-rich countries like Venezuela in recent weeks but are devastating for poor Latin Americans suffering from inflation.
Small farmers in the region have been hit by sky-high prices for oil-based fertilizers and higher transportation costs.
Prices for basic grains have risen across the globe affected by factors like increased food demand in Asia and the use of crops for biofuels.
Chavez said the fund would be financed by siphoning off 1 percent of income from 1 million barrels per day of Venezuela's oil output when prices rise above $100 a barrel. (Reporting by Enrique Pretel and Patricia Rondon; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Xavier Briand)
CARACAS, May 15 (Reuters) - Venezuela's leftist President Hugo Chavez on Thursday offered to spend $365 million of the OPEC nation's record oil income per year on a fund for poor countries as world food and energy prices soar.
Chavez said the funding would kick in when crude prices rose above $100 per barrel. He also said European and Latin American nations should contribute to the program, and called on Europe to cancel the debt of Latin American and Caribbean countries.
"Three hundred sixty-five million dollars a year for a fund that will allow us to produce, buy and distribute food and medicines to the homes of the poorest families," he said at a news conference with foreign journalists.
Chavez was expected to travel to Peru for a summit of Latin American and European leaders that begins on Friday. He may present his aid plan there.
Venezuela, an OPEC member, has already pledged $100 million with other left-wing regional leaders to increase output of staples such as rice, beans and corn.
They hope to stave off protests and political unrest now plaguing nations from Haiti to Bangladesh.
Oil prices at more than $120 a barrel have been a bonanza for oil-rich countries like Venezuela in recent weeks but are devastating for poor Latin Americans suffering from inflation.
Small farmers in the region have been hit by sky-high prices for oil-based fertilizers and higher transportation costs.
Prices for basic grains have risen across the globe affected by factors like increased food demand in Asia and the use of crops for biofuels.
Chavez said the fund would be financed by siphoning off 1 percent of income from 1 million barrels per day of Venezuela's oil output when prices rise above $100 a barrel. (Reporting by Enrique Pretel and Patricia Rondon; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Xavier Briand)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
Sphere
Rocker Monk
Obama takes campaign abroad
