Venezuelan President Scraps Plan for Food Restrictions

Calls the plan "insane"

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro says he has halted a plan to restrict the sale of basic food items in the country's most populous state, Zulia.

The scheme would have limited the number of packages of items such as rice, milk and sugar shoppers were allowed to buy.

The authorities said it was aimed at curbing smuggling to Colombia.

Venezuela is suffering from a shortage of some goods, with milk, toilet paper and sugar often not easily available.

Appearing on television on Saturday, President Maduro called the plan "insane"

Critics had said the plan to restrict the sale of 20 basic food items constituted food rationing.