UN warns that food crisis due to war in Ukraine “threatens” Latin America

the war in Ukraine It will trigger poverty and the food crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean due to the increase in prices, in a region still impacted by the pandemic, the UN World Food Program (WFP) warned on Tuesday.

“Millions of people could be pushed into poverty and food insecurity if the conflict in Ukraine continues,” said Lola Castro, director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the World Food Program (WFP), with regional headquarters in Panama.

According to a statement from this United Nations agency, food insecurity currently affects at least 9.3 million people in Latin American countries, a figure that “in the worst case” could “proceed to 13.3 million.” if the war “continues unabated”.

“The prices of raw materials and energy have increased due to the conflict in Ukraine. The increase in food inflation threatens the region, with several countries highly dependent on cereal imports”, especially the Caribbean islands, warns the WFP.

The note indicates that the average costs per metric ton of basic products such as rice, black beans, lentils and vegetable oil increased by 27% between January and April 2022, and 111% between January 2019 and April 2022.

Russia and Ukraine play a key role in the global supply of strategic raw materials for industrial and food use.

The war and the Western economic sanctions imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine have caused the risk of shortages and the rise in prices of basic products.

Russia is one of the world’s largest oil and gas producers and the world’s largest exporter of wheat, while Ukraine is the world’s fourth largest exporter of corn and is on track to become the third largest exporter of wheat.

In addition, the conflict in Europe, according to the WFP, has aggravated the crisis caused in Latin America by the covid-19 pandemic, which had already increased the costs of buying and shipping food due to the interruption in the supply chain. .

“The region is already dealing with COVID-19, rising costs and weather extremes,” Castro said.

The situation has even caused the WFP to make an international appeal for more than 315 million dollars to cover its operating costs to provide humanitarian aid throughout the region for the next six months.

“While the number of food insecure people continues to rise, the gap between our financial needs and available resources continues to widen,” added Castro.

Source: Elcomercio

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