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Former Cargill trader says Venezuela remains a natural market for U.S. ag products
A former head of trading with Cargill says increased stability in Venezuela could mean additional opportunities for U.S. agriculture in the long term.
“They’re a natural buyer of U.S. ag products.”
Jeff Kazin, who oversaw the company’s refined-oil business in the region in the late 2010’s, says it’ll be a long road.
“How do you operate in a country that’s relatively lawless?” He says, “If you had a confinement hog building, you could raise pigs, and when they were ready, they were stolen.”
Kazin, who now farms in Ohio and is co-founder of AgrisAcademy, says supporting the Venezuelan population is key.
“When you make a population hungry, they become subservient to you.” He says, “Feeding the population and making sure that the first priority of life, food and shelter, is taken care of is a big first step.”
Despite the challenges, he tells Brownfield the country still presents a long-term market opportunity for a variety of U.S. products.
“Our rice farmers desperately need a market.” He says, “They’ll buy bean meal. In the meantime, they could be pork buyers, they could be poultry buyers. Those are staple crops. Plus veg oil. They actually eat a fair amount of pasta. So, your Durham wheat farmers up in the Dakotas.”
Kazin says Venezuela’s food system has continued to deteriorate in recent years, so re-establishing domestic production would also be a priority.
The USDA says in 2024, U.S. agricultural product exports to Venezuela totaled $800 million, and the United States was the largest supplier of agricultural and food products by volume with 39 percent market share.
AUDIO: Jeff Kazin – former head of trading with Cargill
Argument for both a fully functioning IMF and CME including lots of transparency and trading.
These markets are large enough, and the societal needs are there.
Politicians are keeping it for themselves. Business as Usual.