Food prices send hunger soaring in Latin America: UN agencies

Rising food prices in Latin America and the Caribbean caused the number of people going hungry in the region to rise by more than 13 million between 2019 and 2021, a United Nations report said Tuesday.

The report by three UN agencies said the region was particularly vulnerable to the global food crisis caused by Russia's war in Ukraine due to a high reliance on wheat, maize and fertilizer imports.

"The number of people in the region suffering from hunger increased by 13.2 million to 56.5 million," read the report, released at a press conference in Santiago, Chile.

In addition, moderate or severe food insecurity affected 267.7 million people -- 40.6 percent of the region's population -- in 2021.

This is "far above the world average" of 29.3 percent, said the report.

"The rise in food inflation and extreme poverty is one of the factors behind the increase in food insecurity and hunger," said the report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP).

According to the FAO, food insecurity refers to a lack of regular access to healthy and nutritious food.

"The heavy reliance on imported fertilizers, and fluctuating food prices, have an unavoidable negative impact on livelihoods -- mainly of the rural population -- and access to healthy food," said Mario Lubetkin, FAO Assistant Director-General.