More than 26 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean could fall into extreme poverty if food prices remain high, according to a new study by the Inter-American Development Bank.
Poverty will increase if wheat, rice and soybeans remain pricey and countries fail to boost local agricultural production and income to the poor, the bank said.
Costa Rica would need to transfer 0.99 percent of its GDP to the poor to avoid an increase in poverty. Nicaragua would have to transfer 3.72 percent of its GDP, while Chile would have to spend 0.19 percent.
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