The Venezuelan bottler of Coca-Cola has halted production of sugar-sweetened beverages because of a lack of sugar, a Coca-Cola spokeswoman says.
Venezuela is in the midst of a deep recession, and spontaneous demonstrations and looting have become more common amid worsening food shortages, frequent power cuts and the world's highest inflation.
Production of sugar-sweetened drinks has stopped, but output of diet drinks such as Coca-Cola light and other zero-sugar beverages continued, spokeswoman Kerry Tressler wrote in an email on Monday (local time).
The local bottler, Coca-Cola Femsa SAB, said it would issue a statement later on Monday.
"Sugar suppliers in Venezuela have informed us that they will temporarily cease operations due to a lack of raw materials," Tressler added.
Reuters
