Photo: Marco Ugarte/AP PHOTO/PICTURE ALLIANCE / Deutsche Welle
The war in Ukraine 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, warned Tuesday (24.05.2022) the UN World Food Program (WFP).
“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 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 “rise to 13.3 million” if the war “continues unabated”.
Von der Leyen accuses to #Russia to create a c food crisis
According to the European president, some 19 million tons of grain are blocked in #Ukraine.
The Latin American presidents also expressed concern in Davos about the price of food. /jpc pic.twitter.com/MCWt1fxEhD
— DW Español (@dw_espanol) May 20, 2022
“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.
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.
In addition, the conflict in Europe, according to the WFP, has aggravated the crisis caused in Latin America by the coronavirus pandemic, which had already increased the costs of purchasing and the shipment of food due to the interruption in the supply chain.
“The region is already dealing with COVID-20, rising costs and weather extremes,” Castro said.