Central America Poverty
Deepening Says Forecast
Tendency to hike in food
prices will dig in
poverty even more in
Central America, where
the cost of living
increased substantially
during the first quarter
of 2008.
Specialists of the
Honduras Central Bank
informed today that
price increase over the
last 12 months in this
country, for example
reached 7.7 per cent and
its annual variation
to 9.2 per cent.
The monthly index of
Consumer Prices, the
most outstanding item
was Food and Non
Alcoholic Beverages with
53.3 percent, due to the
hike in prices in food,
added daily La Tribuna.
The most increased
prices were eggs,
chicken, mortadella,
pork chops, pasteurized
and powder milk, wheat
flour, lard and
vegetable oil, dairy
products, crackers,
rice, spaghettis, sweet
bread and ripe plantain.
Transport also
registered a hike of
13.3 percent due to the
more expensive gas
prices, international
air transport, oil
change and tires for
motor cars.
In Guatemala, inflation
went up 2.88 percent in
March, while in El
Salvador, annual
inflation reached that
month 6 percent due to
the rise in wheat flour
which triggered two
street marches by bakers
to demand a subsidy from
the government.
President Elias Antonio
Saca of El Salvador did
not yet respond to
demands, but the
governments of Guatemala
and Nicaragua aim to
introduce several
measures to attenuate
the situation.
Costa Rica closed April
2007 to March 2008 with
an inflation of 11.4
percent, higher figure
than the 9.22 percent
registered the previous
year, informed the
National Statistics and
Census Institute. |
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