Beans crisis sparks surging prices and massive imports

The price of beans, the food staple of the region’s poor, has soared in Central America for a second week.

The crisis has been sparked by damage to crops by recent floods. In Nicaragua, where a pound of beans cost 64 US cents a week earlier, the price had risen by Wednesday to 97 cents. In El Salvador the price has risen from 55 to 95 cents.

Nicaragua is negotiating mass imports of beans, as are El Salvador and Honduras. Meanwhile, all three countries are taking measures to prevent hoarding and speculation.

Original source (in Spanish): AFP