LATE-STAGE SOCIALISM: Kellogg pulls out of Venezuela due to economic crisis.

Kellogg did not specify what difficulties it was facing in Venezuela, but companies typically struggle to find raw materials due to product shortages and currency controls that crimp imports. Socialist President Nicolas Maduro’s government also stops companies from raising prices to keep up with hyperinflation, denting profits and sometimes rendering operations unsustainable.

Venezuela’s Information Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

The closure is not expected to significantly worsen food shortages in Venezuela, but it was a further blow to morale for many Venezuelans as Kellogg’s is the most popular and available cereal in the country.

Stunned workers were barred from entering Kellogg’s plant in the central city of Maracay and massed outside, seeking information, local business sources said.

The move by the multinational was a typical one in Venezuela after years of economic crisis.

I’d ask the last company to leave to please turn off the lights, but that’s being taken care of already.