Venezuela Begins to Export Much More Than Oil

By Misión Verdad – Jun 27, 2025

For more than a century, the Venezuelan economy was trapped in the logic of oil rentierism and mono-exportation, a model that controlled its development, weakened its productive structure, and deepened its vulnerability to international cycles and, above all, external aggression.

However, in recent years, a step-by-step transformation aimed at diversifying the country’s export offering and expanding its presence in new international markets has been carried out.

Official figures reveal that in the first four months of 2025 alone, Venezuela’s non-oil exports increased by 87.66% compared to the same period last year. Among the most notable products is rum, with more than two million cases exported to over 100 countries, representing 3% of the country’s GDP.

Agricultural and aquaculture sector
On June 23, President Nicolás Maduro reported on the export of seafood to Asia, especially China, where the purity of Venezuelan waters and the quality standards of its species have allowed for the consolidation of new trade agreements in this area.

It is recalled that last year, Venezuela’s Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Juan Carlos Loyo, signed a trade agreement with China to ship wild and farmed species to the main importing market for these types of products.

“Venezuela will be one of only 15 countries permitted to export to China,” Minister Loyo declared at the time. “We will send shrimp, but also jellyfish and sea bass, among other species.”

Seafood exports have become the largest non-oil export sector.

Venezuela is currently the world’s tenth-greatest shrimp exporter, with production destined primarily for European markets such as Spain, France, the Netherlands, and England, reflecting an expansion of the export base linked to the seafood economy.

Additionally, economic ties with Türkiye have been strengthened, where the “Made in Venezuela” business fair was recently held, aimed at promoting national products, tourism offerings, and creating trade opportunities.

Within the framework of this initiative, agreements were reached that include the export of 3,000 tons of Chinese beans, as well as higher-value products such as cocoa, coffee, and marine species.

This is due to the significant progress made in seed production programs and partnerships with farmers, as crops like cocoa have an international presence, not only through bean exports but also through higher-value derived products, such as liquid chocolate and cocoa liquor.

According to estimates by Hayri Kucukyavuz, president of the Association of Independent Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Türkiye (Musiad–Venezuela), these agreements are part of a bilateral agenda that seeks to increase bilateral trade, which rose from just US $50 million in 2018 to currently between US $800 million and US $1 billion annually.

“Our goal for the next three years is to reach 3 billion,” said Kucukyavuz, confirming the qualitative leap in Venezuelan exports and the broad potential for expansion in the Turkish region.

Reactivation of industries
In the industrial sector, the Socialist Cement Corporation exported more than 15,000 tons of cement to various international markets in March.

The Minister of Industry and National Production, Alex Saab, stated that “we have increased cement production in the last three months, which allows us to supply the domestic market and resume exports sustainably.”

The export was the result of a comprehensive strategic plan to optimize production processes and strengthen the logistics chain. This follows recent infrastructure improvements at the Pertigalete port in Anzoátegui state, now considered a key hub for reactivating the country’s industrial foreign trade.

Likewise, the state-owned company Maderas del Orinoco has reactivated wood chip exports to markets such as China and West Asia as a result of logistics optimization and the restoration of operations along the Orinoco River.

The reactivation of these exports corresponds to strong international demand for products such as cement and forestry inputs, areas in which Venezuela has ideal conditions to take advantage of new commercial opportunities.

Trade with Colombia
Since the formal resumption of diplomatic relations between Venezuela and Colombia in 2022, bilateral trade has experienced sustained growth, consolidating the border as one of the region’s most dynamic economic hubs.

The agreement signed in 2023 between Presidents Gustavo Petro and Nicolás Maduro, which eliminated tariff barriers and laid the groundwork for a Special Economic Zone between Norte de Santander and Táchira, has begun to bear concrete fruit in the bilateral trade balance.

In trade with Colombia, the most-traded items in recent months have been iron and steel castings, fertilizers, aluminum and its products, fuels and oils, as well as organic chemical products.

On the Cúcuta-San Antonio axis, the epicenter of border trade, an unprecedented recovery is being recorded after more than seven years of closure. “Export/import commercial activity in San Antonio has seen a strong rebound,” said Maximiliano Vásquez, president of Fedecámaras Táchira.

“The border was closed for many years, and more than 60 customs agencies and up to 30 warehouses were inactive. Today, they have been able to resume work thanks to the reopening,” said Vásquez. This reactivation has generated multiplier effects on employment, transportation, customs logistics, and business activity in general.

He also highlighted the potential yet to be developed in this bilateral relationship:

“Colombia imports more than $60 billion from the world, and it only bought about $6 million from us last year. That is, there’s potential to export up to 100 times more than we’re currently exporting to Colombia.”

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The gap highlights the significant growth potential for Venezuelan producers, especially if they manage to maintain competitive standards and strengthen confidence in the restored commercial institutions.

The surge in bilateral trade not only reactivates border areas that had been paralyzed for years but also contributes to stabilizing local economies and creating new development opportunities in one of the continent’s strategic corridors.

This assessment suggests that Venezuela has slowly but steadily begun to overcome the constraints of a rentier economy and is making progress on state plans that outline a model of international integration based on diversification, productive sovereignty, and the utilization of its agricultural, industrial, and maritime potential.

With the new export cycle, based on the production of goods and the utilization of domestic capacities, a historic turning point is being marked that could be progressively dismantling the old economic model.

(Misión Verdad)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/JRE/SL