The president of the republic, Nicolás Maduro, called this Tuesday at the National Council of Productive Economy for the “radical substitution of imports” and the facilitation of procedures for Venezuelan businessmen to export with a significant reduction in bureaucratic procedures.
In this sense, the head of state signed the Unified Protocol for Non-Oil Exports, Postal and Related Activities, which will support the task of simplifying several of the procedures that are imposed on national businesses to take their products abroad. “There is no reason not to have a more efficient State,” he said.
He recognized that the internal and external market must be strengthened. “Place our products in the new world that opens its doors to us. The big markets: China, Russia, Iran, Turkiye, are open to us, now we have to build the road,” he said.
On this point, he said that government efforts have reduced from 120 to 65 procedures, “but that is too much,” he asserted. He requested that “the economic team must make a plan so that in the first quarter (of 2026) the complex process of industrialists and businessmen in the country is simplified.”
“The economic team must sharpen its aim to consolidate the complete substitution of exports. We have to go to a radical substitution of exports to save foreign currency and to generate new sources of foreign currency. There will be the breaking point of this daily war of the exchange system,” he highlighted.
Figures that speak for themselves
President Maduro highlighted several figures that strongly demonstrate the growth of the national economy. In principle, the manufacturing sector stood out as a pillar of this growth, which had an 8% boost this year.
“That is commitment, management capacity, a lot of work, technology, investment, strategy and complete support from the State,” he said while recognizing this growth as a miracle.
In this sense, he said that the industrialization capacity is currently close to 50%, with a view to exceeding 60% in 2026. “There is a need for investment, technology, resolving raw material issues, permit issues and facilitating work to continue strengthening the internal market,” he added.
Also notable was the growth of 50% in agribusiness, 29% in the pharmaceutical sector and the 37.9% increase in consumption, invigorated by a 35% increase in consumption during Black Friday.
In the case of agriculture, products such as rice stand out with 68%, corn with 25% and sugar with 38%.
He pointed out the increase in aquaculture production by 4% and in the fishing sector by 2.4%. In turn, he reported that animal production increased by 6%.
He mentioned the sustained growth of oil production “with its own lungs” of 18.6% in 2025 “and we are going to achieve a minimum growth in 2026 of 15%.”
In other areas, the Executive highlighted that Venezuelan electrical energy production has increased its capacity in megawatts by 40% during the year 2025, the petrochemical sector experienced a growth of 4% and that mining grew in gold in the public sector 97%, gold in private production 41%, coal 129% and iron 181%.
Tourism experienced a moment of splendor, welcoming more than 3 million foreign tourists in 2025.
“We have to produce everything in Venezuela, the line is clear in that sense, of a radical substitution of imports to save foreign currency and to generate new sources of foreign currency and from there in the medium term will be the stabilization of the perfect exchange system that Venezuela has,” said the president.
