War in Ukraine creates hunger and food supply panic in Peru
In this edition, war in Ukraine sends fertilizer prices soaring in Peru, making even growing food a problem in South America’s most food insecure country.
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THE STORY
Peru has been in turmoil since December, with the removal of former union leader Pedro Castillo as president. Peruvian prosecutors said earlier this month that they would be investigating the conduct of the police, the army and other security personnel who used deadly force against protesters. Much of the violence and unrest over the last year is directly a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Even in April, last year, reports connected anger over inflation in Peru with the rising price of oil as a result of Putin’s war. But one year since the war began, the full extent of its effect is apparent in Peru. The country is now, according to the UN, the most food insecure country in South America. Disruption to the fertilizer supply chain, 500,000 tons of which came annually from Russia and Ukraine, is now deepening a pre-existing food crisis initially triggered by the pandemic. It’s a pattern repeated in countries such as Malawi, where 20% of the population faces acute food insecurity as a result of high fertilizer prices.