Food prices and poverty rise together

A new article by Raúl Gutiérrez of IPS focuses anew on how rising food costs have led to an increase in poverty in El Salvador:
According to a World Food Programme (WFP) study, "Alza de precios, mercados e inseguridad alimentaria y nutricional en Centroamérica" (Price Rises, Markets and Food and Nutritional Security in Central America), more than 100,000 people in this country of 6.5 million slipped below the poverty line between September 2007 and June 2008.

The study, carried out among 850 people in 25 rural communities in 10 of the country’s 14 departments, reports that more than one million people in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua fell into poverty in that period.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) warned in August that more than 26 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean could fall into extreme poverty if food prices remain high.

The IDB report also projects that persistent high prices would drive up poverty rates, from 51.4 percent before the increase in food prices to 59.4 percent after the price increase, in Guatemala, for example.

It also predicts a rise in the poverty rate from 35.1 to 41.7 percent in El Salvador; 69.5 to 73.4 percent in Honduras; and 41.5 to 46.8 percent in Nicaragua.

Central America has been identified as "a particularly vulnerable region," because of its dependence on "food and fuel imports" -- two variables that produce inflation, WFP country director for El Salvador, Carlo Scaramella, told IPS.

World oil prices have recently been dropping as a consequence of the world economic downturn and this may provide some relief from inflation, but that is likely to be offset by declines in remittances from abroad, a lifeline of El Salvador's economy.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I HAVE HEARD THAT ARTURO ZABLAH WILL BE THE VICE-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FOR ARENA. CAN ANYONE CONFIRM?
Anonymous said…
Is not confirmed so far but we have these pix that are revealing a lot of info related to this topic.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_K0YyZ_xDbQY/SOnxijOWgiI/AAAAAAAAAgM/ZoKGzauoIrA/s1600-h/pareja.jpg

http://chichicaste.blogcindario.com/2008/10/01227-el-amor-esta-en-el-aire.html
Anonymous said…
http://www.diariocolatino.com/es/20081008/portada/59586/

The link above is to see the results of the last poll published by the UCA University in E.S.

Mauricio Funes strenght is consolidating and getting more stable and solid everyday.

Nace la esperanza y viene el cambio.

FMLN Victoria 2009.

HI VISITADOR, what would you say this time?

Isn't this a trustable source? haha.

Will you come with another communist's tale? hahaha... get a life LOSER... hahaha...
Anonymous said…
Remember that people like EV don't have much respect for the UCA.

Back in 2000, Renato Antonio Perez--an ARENA deputy on the Justice and Human Rights Commission in the Assembly--told me that the UCA had been the "command and control center of the guerrillas."
Anonymous said…
Food prices, dependency, that is what i ve been trying to tell every body, el salvador tropical region, should be independent not only from la capitania de guatemala also from the food, i wish that every salvadorean be more interested in learn how to plant tomatoes in their yards how to plant cucombers, potatoes, beans, so many things that each family can do for them selves make your own bread at home how do they thing the italians survived, the germans and still do, they used to make their own pasta, why the goverment try to keep us blind, like if you dont buy it from the store there is no other way to get it, as i know cuba has a garden of vegetables and fruits to provide the ones can not aford it,for the people but still why they just dont planted in the back yard or in a pot.