In order to control hoarding and shortages of food in the country, Venezuela has rolled out a new plan to monitor grocery purchases by fingerprinting buyers.

The plan, which uses the same system utilized during elections since 2003, had been mentioned in previous months as a possibility, according to La Tercera.

President Nicolas Maduro announced Wednesday that the plan will be put into effect, but other officials said it cannot be enacted sooner than December or January, according to Fox Latino.

But critics of the plan are unhappy with its similarities to rationing, and claim it is a breach of privacy.

Food has been smuggled into neighboring Colombia in order for the smugglers to make a profit as well as those selling the food back to Venezuelans near the border for a higher price, according to ABC News. Although Maduro began to monitor grocery sales in April, food was found to be smuggled as recently as July.

It has been an ongoing problem and presidents of both countries have met to address the situation, which began because of rigid currency controls and a shortage of dollars, making it difficult to find imported basic products, according to the Guardian.

Some of the basic goods which are typically imported have been especially in demand because they are scarce to find, and price controls exacerbate the situation because producers complain some goods are priced too low to make a profit and justify production, the AP reported.

The latest effort to curb smuggling has been for Colombia to close its borders at night, as of last week.

The food smuggled out of the country is about half of the total food supply in the country, Maduro said, according to AP.