Trade at Colombian-Venezuelan border remains stalled

As Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez plans to visit Colombia in the coming weeks for the full restoration of bilateral relations, trade in the border areas remains stuck seven months after Caracas briefly broke off diplomatic ties with Bogota in a row.


The strongest impact of the decline in trade has been felt in the northeastern city of Cucuta, where about 400 companies suspend operations last year and 300 stores closed down.


Another sector suffering from the row between the two neighbors over former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe's accusations that FARC guerrillas found safe haven in Venezuela, has been the money changers, as a result of the devaluation of the bolivar and the fact that Colombian exports are practically nil.


The drop in trade has also fueled unemployment, which has in turn led to a rise in crime.


Statistics show that unemployment in the border areas has reached about 14 percent. For example, in the traditional clay industry, 40 exporting companies had to stop business and 3,000 people were laid off.


Sandra Guzman, director of the guild of customs brokerage, said the sector has been hit hardest.


"Our sector has been one of the most affected, and nearly 60 percent of our people have become unemployed. No activity, not even paperwork to suggest the possibility of an improvement and there is no response to our concerns to find other possibilities," she said, adding the situation was becoming more complicated with each passing day.


While many people have to settle for informal jobs, they are still hopeful that improved relations between Colombia and Venezuela will help pay off the debt of over 81 million U.S. dollar owed to entrepreneurs at the border.


They may also derive hope from the 13 trade and economic cooperation agreements signed by Colombian Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin and her Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro early March at a meeting in Caracas.


Venezuelan President Chavez said he was confident bilateral trade in the coming year would surpass that in 2008 when trade reached more than 7 billion U.S. dollars.


Venezuela was the second largest trading partner of Colombia until 2008 and the "freezing" and later rupture of bilateral relations caused two-way trade to plunge from 7 billion to 2 billion U.S. dollars last year.
(Source:http://news.xinhuanet.com)