Baked Goods in Venezuela

PROSPECTS

Insufficient supplies of wheat continue to limit growth in 2018

Long queues at bakeries – at times supervised by armed police or community leaders – were less common in Venezuela during 2018, because shortages of wheat and high prices deterred the consumption of bread. Being a tropical country, Venezuela’s supply of wheat depends solely on imports, which are under the strict control of the government through the issuing of import permits and the allocation of quotas to flour mills.

Price regulations and other limits substitute market forces

The government continues to use price controls and quotas to resolve the shortages suffered by the public. Bakeries have been commanded to allocate 90% of the wheat flour they receive for the making of bread, leaving the remaining 10% for the production of cakes and other pastries.

Venezuelans favour bread over other baked goods

Since unpackaged bread in Venezuela is a price-regulated category, it is in stronger demand compared with packaged bread. By mid-2018, the average unit price of packaged leavened bread was many times higher than that of unpackaged leavened bread.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Bread production is still competitive

Artisanal producers led baked goods in value terms in 2018, which can be explained by the supremacy of unpackaged leavened bread. These are independent producers which are almost exclusively located in urban areas, since rural communities rely on the artisanal production of corn-based and yucca-based products.

Price regulations lead to changes in share distribution

Manufacturers of dessert mixes – which are comprised exclusively by flavoured gelatine – led growth in 2018, seeing a stronger increase than Bimbo de Venezuela, a bread maker. The change in the structure of the category was the result of the high unit price of dessert mixes, which has a high value share within overall packaged food.

Bimbo continues to lead bread in 2018

Bimbo de Venezuela continued to lose value share in baked goods in 2018, due to its diminished presence and heightened price scrutiny; both variables caused by government intervention. The company led packaged leavened bread thanks to its international brand Bimbo, which includes sandwich bread, hot dog and hamburger rolls, and enjoyed third place in packaged flat bread with its tortillas brand Bimbo Rapiditas.

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