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• In Haiti, Port au Prince erupted in riots directly related to food prices. It is expected that national food shortages will continue until the harvest starts in June. The cost of a bag of rice has risen by as much as 50%. There is new vocabulary in Haitian Creole to describe the persistence of hunger pangs: "Klorox," after the chlorine-based bleach, and "Asid Batri, '' or battery acid, comparing the sensation of hunger to the effects of swallowing these toxic substances. There are reports of people stealing cooked food and of people eating mud cakes in the city of Les Cayes.

• In Lesotho, there have been media reports of children collapsing in school because of hunger. Many families use 50 percent of their income on food, so when food costs rise, it puts many people over the edge.

• In Ethiopia, signs of the commodity price increases include an increasing number of women, children, elderly and disabled people living on the streets of Addis Ababa. The Missionaries of Charity, whose urban centers take in the poorest of the poor, have seen a 20 percent increase in demand for their services over the past two years.

• In Burkina Faso, people have taken to the street in the major cities of Bobo Dioulasso, Ouahigouya, Banfora and Ouagadougou to protest against the high cost of living. The price of a 50 kilogram bag of ordinary rice increased by 25% in the first three months of this year, while local cottonseed oil is up by 33 percent and imported oil is up 67 percent. For a typical household of seven living on the salary of a middle class government worker ($236 a month), food costs that used to consume 60 percent of their revenue before the crisis now take up 75 percent — without considering other household costs, like utilities, rent, school fees and medical expenses.

• In Guatemala, the most recently quoted monthly value of a typical food basket is $213 for a family of six. Compare that to the minimum monthly salary for agricultural work, which is $217, and for non-agricultural work, which is $223. Salaries barely cover the cost of food.

[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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