A US-led intervention in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro could have significant impacts on global markets this year. While the country’s vast oil reserves are currently taking the spotlight, US agricultural stakeholders are eyeing the reopening of a significant export market.
Venezuela’s economy has contracted more than -60% since Maduro took power in 2013, which thrust the country into crisis long before the latest US actions. Some 8 million people have fled the country, while around 80% of those still in Venezuela are said to be struggling with food insecurity.
Venezuela’s agriculture sector is relatively small, though it does employ about a tenth of the workforce and uses around a quarter of the country’s land. Oil‑led development and trade liberalization in the late 20th century pulled resources out of agriculture and increased reliance on imported food, contributing to rural poverty and structural neglect of farming.
Starting in 1998, policies such as food price controls and oil‑funded imports initially expanded access, but when oil revenues fell, imports collapsed, domestic production weakened, and food insecurity intensified. Land reforms in the 2000s transferred large estates to smallholders, but limited credit, inputs, and infrastructure meant productivity declined and many farms were abandoned.
Venezuela’s agricultural imports have more than doubled in value since 2019, reaching around US$3 billion in 2024. The country still imports significant amounts of corn (1.1 MMT in 23/24) wheat (1.2 MMT in 23/24), and rice (235,000 MT in 23/24), although those amounts are down steeply since 2013. Before the Maduro regime, annual corn imports were closer to 2.5 MMT, wheat imports were around 1.5 MMT, and rice imports were about half a million.
Leading rice suppliers were Brazil (110,000 MT, 47% share) and the United States (56,000 MT, 24%) in 24/25, while the primary suppliers of wheat and wheat products were Canada (528,000 MT, 45% market share), the United States (349,000 MT, 30%), Turkey (149,000 MT, 13%), and Russia (130,000 MT, 11%).
US ag stakeholders see opportunities for US rice and especially wheat to gain market share. Most insiders think the US takeover is going to deal a blow to not only Russia and Turkey’s political influence in the country, but also their trade ties.
Ag experts also think Venezuela could be a big customer for US yellow corn as the country tries to revive its livestock industry. Venezuela imported 1.2 MMT of corn in 24/25, none of it from the US. Prior to Maduro’s regime, the US was supplying around half the country’s corn imports, or some 1-1.5 MMT tons.
From a pure logistics viewpoint, US production makes a lot more sense than Black Sea supplies. The US also has an advantage over other South American countries like Brazil thanks to the proximity of U.S. Gulf ports to Venezuelan terminals.
The United States is already the leading supplier of beef and dairy cattle genetics to Venezuela, according to FAS, exporting live cattle, sires, semen and embryos. Direct exports of U.S. live breeding cattle to Venezuela resumed in 2024 after a seven-year pause, with 30 Brahman bulls and heifers valued at $300,000. In 2025, an additional 23 American Red Brahman and American Red Brangus cattle, valued at $180,000, were exported to Venezuela. Insiders believe opportunities should expand further as the industry continues trying to rebuild.
Currently, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) ranks Venezuela as the 34th most important export market for the United States, with a total export value of $753.21 million in 2024 and a three year average of $716.91 million in purchases. (Sources: USDA, Food Ingredients, AgriPulse, DTN)
