Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro announced that the government will implement mandatory fingerprinting for supermarket buyers in a bid to curb food shortage in the country.

The Socialist Venezuelan government has been waging war with food shortages stemming from hoarding and smuggling practices of some companies. The fingerprinting system announced on Wednesday is designed to prevent people from purchasing too much of a single item, Time Magazine explained.

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President Maduro did not confirm when the measure would be implemented.

Venezuela enjoys goods priced 10 times lower than those in its neighboring countries because of its price control policies. However, smugglers take advantage of the cheap goods by buying them in bulk and selling them for large profits in Colombia and other countries across the border, an AFP report said.

The new system would use scanners that could detect if a person makes repeated trips to the grocery stores or buys unusually large quantities of food. Maduro ordered this system to be established in all commercial distributors and supermarkets across the country.

The president called the biometric system a "perfect" solution to food shortage and an "anti-fraud blessing."

Critics, however, were not happy with the measure. The opposition compared the system to food rationing in communist nations.

Lawmaker Alfonso Marquina, who is from the opposition party Justice First, said the move is tantamount to "Cuban rationing." He reasoned that the government has no right to dictate what a family should or should not eat.

The Colombian government also criticized Marduro's new policy, saying it will not help solve the crisis.

In spite of having the biggest oil reserves in the world, Venezuela is knee-deep in an economic crisis riddled with long-term shortages, high inflation rate and increasing deficit.

Just this month, the Venezuelan government started locking down its border with Colombia every night as part of its effort to put a stop to smuggling practices.

TagsVenezuela, Colombia, Nicolas Maduro, AFP, Time Magazine, Alfonso Marquina, Justice First