Venezuela - Key Message Update: Erosion of household purchasing power continues amid high food prices, May - September 2026

Country: Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) Source: Famine Early Warning System Network Please refer to the attached file. Key Messages Stressed (IPC Phase 2) outcomes are expected to persist countrywide through September, despite gradual macroeconomic improvements. Most poor households remain able to meet their minimum food needs, but face difficulties meeting their essential non-food needs due to extremely high food inflation in local currency and limited purchasing power. However, pockets of poor households – mainly in informal settlements around urban areas – with limited to no sources of income in USD and/or limited to no access to social safety net programs are likely to experience Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes. These households’ incomes in VED are insufficient to cover the rising cost of food, resulting in food consumption gaps or the use of negative coping strategies, without reaching the necessary threshold to change the area-level classification in any state. Macroeconomic conditions are stabilizing, but progress remains slow and incremental. Between March and April, the official exchange rate depreciated by 13.6 percent to 480.76 VED/USD while the parallel market exchange rate appreciated by 2 percent to 645.72 VED/USD. The gap between the official and parallel rates narrowed to 30 percent, declining 10 percentage points from March, supported by improved foreign currency availability throughout the Venezuelan economy. The monthly inflation rate slowed for the third consecutive month (to 10.6 percent), while the annual inflation rate was 611.9 percent (decreasing 37 percentage points from March). In April, the cost of the minimum survival ration (consisting of maize flour, rice, pasta, and oil) continued to increase in local currency at a pace similar to February and March,...

Original source: Relief Web