It has already asked women to stop blow-drying their hair and given a two-day working week to public sector workers, now the scale of the financial crisis propelling Venezuela towards economic ruin can be seen in how much it costs to eat a humble hamburger.

The official exchange rate is now at a rate of 10 bolivares for $1 as the country continues to be gripped by a currency crisis caused by the fall in the global oil price and the economic mismanagement of President Nicolas Maduro’s government.

That means the hamburgers being sold for 1,700 Venezuelan dollars as reported by the AFP news agency will set customers back $170.

It means even the middle classes are struggling to afford the most basic necessities.

According to the International Monetary Fund, inflation is now at 720 per cent as people in the capital are forced to spend long hours queuing for basic foodstuffs in the country’s cities.

One person standing a queue for daily deliveries of basic toiletries such as toothpaste in the capital, Caracas, told Agence France Presse he wasn’t even sure what he would be able to buy.

He said: "We do this every week. And we don't know what we're trying to buy.

"What's frustrating is when you get into a gigantic line but they run out before you get any."