Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday declared cocoa "strategic product" for the national economy.
Chavez instructed the country's Vice President Elias Jaua to work our and introduce to the parliament a bill related to the issue.
"We must turn Venezuela into the world's leading cocoa producer, so that this product [cocoa] to become the basis of our new economic model," Chavez said.
Experts believe that the statement of the Venezuelan president is related to the current situation on the world cocoa market. Since 2008 the price on the product has raised due to reductions of supplies from Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire which have produced over 55% of the world cocoa output.
MOSCOW, October 31 (RIA Novosti)
