Fast Market Research recommends "Venezuela Shipping Report Q4 2013" from Business Monitor International, now available

Boston, MA -- (SBWire) -- 10/02/2013 --Venezuela's shipping and ports sector has been highly affected by the country's unstable political and economic situation. We expect near-recessionary economic conditions to prevail over the coming quarters, characterised by a slowdown in private consumption and exports, which will have a negative knock-on effect on shipping and port volumes.

We believe recently-elected President Nicolas Maduro will continue Chavez's policies of elevated social spending, which will result in sizeable fiscal deficits. Inflation will remain elevated, at the highest level in Latin America, and the operating environment will remain very precarious for foreign multinationals in the country.

Despite the less than ideal operating environment, Venezuelan ports are seeing some foreign investment, with China Harbour Engineering Company involved in building the new container terminal at the port of Cabello, the largest in the country.

Headline Industry Data

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- 2013 Puerto Cabello tonnage throughput growth forecast at 1.7%. Slow growth expected to continue over the medium term, averaging 1.6% to 2017.
- 2013 Puerto Cabello container throughput to grow by 3.0%, and forecast to average 3.1% over our forecast period.

Key Industry Trends

Chinese Investment In Ports Sector To Grow: BMI believes that increased Chinese involvement in the Venezuelan ports sector will be beneficial for both parties. For the Chinese the investment will help secure access to the Latin American country's oil and markets for its manufactured goods. For Venezuela, meanwhile, the partnership will bring much-needed improvements to the ports sector, which has been lagging in investment since being nationalised.

Concerns About Corruption In La Guaira: There are concerns about corruption at Venezuela's port of La Guaira after the port's Head of Customs was arrested, along with three others, with VEF4mn in cash. Management at the port's customs operations have said that the arrest was an 'isolated incident' and that operations at the port continue as normal.

Throughput In Latin America And Caribbean Remains Slow; Venezuela Posts Growth: Container throughput in Latin American and Caribbean ports remained sluggish in 2012, confirming the slowdown in the region's foreign trade over the year, due to recession in Europe and slower growth in the US and China, according to the UN's Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). Venezuela, however, managed to post growth as the overvaluation of the Venezuelan currency led to a surge in imports, and therefore activity at ports, as it has became cheaper to import goods than to buy domestically produced products.

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