In a weekly radio address, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced Sunday that a decree to nationalize the country's hot briquetted iron (HBI) producers is in the works, according to local news reports.
Chavez said that with the nationalization of this sector, the government would work with workers to create a new model of production with more efficient technology and higher-quality inputs. The main aim of the nationalization, according to Chavez, is to ensure HBI supplies for the country's domestic market, changing the current paradigm in which most HBI produced in Venezuela is exported or sold to “private sector monopoly Venezuelan bourgeois” which inflate the price.
In May of this year, the Venezuelan government announced that it would extend its control over the steel industry by nationalizing local HBI producers Matesi, Comsigua, Orinoco Iron and Venprecar, as well as tube manufacturer Tavsa.