On 4 August 2015, people queued outside a state-run Bicentenario supermarket in Caracas to buy staple goods. A Reuters photographic record captured demand concentrating at a store with supplies amid chronic shortages.
Reporting from the same year found chicken at a state supermarket selling for about one quarter of the private-store price. Customers were waiting not only for stock, but for the chance to buy at a controlled price. Short supply and a large price gap turned time itself into part of the cost of basic goods.