Drastic food price hikes coupled with swelling numbers of hungry people have caused some leading relief agencies to fear having to turn away those desperate for help.
The current global food crisis, dubbed by some as the “silent tsunami”, has made food now unaffordable for those previously living on the fringe of poverty.
According to statistics from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisations (FAO), the international price for rice increased by 74 per cent, vegetable oils by 60 per cent, dairy products by 83 per cent, soybeans by 87 per cent, and wheat by 130 per cent.
In late April, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) warned that “the steep and persistent rise in international food prices is hitting particularly hard on the poorest in Latin America and the Caribbean”.
At a recent Latin America presidential summit focused on the food crisis, Cuban vice president Esteban Lazo said his country paid about $250 for a tonne of imported rice in 2005, but it now costs the government $1,050 – or four times as much, according to Inter Press Service.
“Hunger continues to grow and the people are becoming increasingly desperate,” wrote Food for the Poor, one of the largest relief groups working in Haiti, in a recent update.
Food for the Poor is a Christian charity that feeds nearly 20,000 people daily in Haiti and works in other Latin America and Caribbean countries.
“People think I’m joking when I ask them to search under cushions for loose change,” said FFP executive director Angel Aloma, in a statement. “But with such a huge jump in the prices of food staples and transportation costs, we’re looking for all the help we can get to keep up with the need in Haiti – no matter how small.”
