Ten Countries With Fastest Rising Food Prices

Droughts make matters worse in Brazil, Kyrgyzstan, elsewhere
By Ashley Allen,  Newser User
Posted Feb 22, 2011 9:01 AM CST Posted Feb 22, 2011 9:01 AM CST
Promoted on Newser Feb 22, 2011 4:57 PM CST
Ten Countries With The Fastest Rising Food Prices
People displaced by flooding line up for food and water outside a fire station in Higuerote, central Venezuela, Dec. 6, 2010.    (AP)

Between June and December 2010, 44 million people across the world were pushed into poverty by rising food prices. The price of many agricultural commodities increased by more than 25%, and for many countries that rely heavily on grains such as wheat for sustenance, prices may not go back down for years because of damage from recent droughts. Using a recent World Bank study, this analysis from 24/7 Wall Street looks at the 10 low- or middle-income countries where food prices have increased the most.

  • Brazil: Extremely dry weather in South America has hurt corn production. As a result, the price of corn has increased 56% from June to December, affecting the cost of other goods as well.
  • Kyrgyzstan: The price of wheat in Kyrgyzstan has increased 54% because of droughts in major wheat-exporting nations. Wheat is the source of 40% of Kyrgyzstan's caloric intake.
Click to read the full list, including Burundi, Bangladesh, and Argentina. (More World hunger stories.)

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