War Begins To Impact Food In Latin America

• Global commodity inflation, aggravated by the war in Ukraine, threatens to leave 14Mn people in Latin America with challenges accessing food supply, almost 50% more than the current figure, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) warned yesterday at a press conference. 
• There are currently 9.7Mn people in this situation of food insecurity in 13 countries of the region. However, they are trying to alleviate food shortages with imports from regional producers such as Mexico or Argentina, said the organization’s director for the region, Lola Castro. 
• The region had suffered multiple crises due to climate change and adverse supply chain impacts of the pandemic, which put 17.7Mn people in a situation of food insecurity. By the end of 2021, the figure had dropped to 8.3Mn. 
• However, implications of the current geopolitical issues on food supply are exacerbating the food security issues in the region. Although Russia and Ukraine do not export large quantities of grains and other foodstuffs to the region, the generalized rise in food prices across the global market has severely affected many Latam countries, which in some cases are net importers of these basic goods.

(Source: Dominican Today)