Hugo Chávez was on Thursday locked in battles with Cargill, the world’s largest trader of agricultural commodities, and Venezuela’s biggest privately owned company, Polar, as he stepped up the nationalisation drive that has been a cornerstone of his 10-year rule.

After an inspection of a Cargill rice mill on Wednesday, the Venezuela president ordered its expropriation and accused the US food giant of “flagrantly violating” laws that require it to produce rice at regulated prices.