Rising world food prices have sparked Egypt’s government into a struggle to contain a political crisis. Violence has broken out at long subsidized bread lines, and the president is worried about unrest. He has ordered the army to step in. At least seven people have died, according to police — two who were stabbed when fights broke out between customers waiting in the long line, and others died from the exhaustion of waiting in line.
The World Food Program on Monday this past week have urged countries to help it by bridging a funding gap in more food assistance caused by higher prices of food and grains. Shortages of subsidized bread, which is sold at less than one cent (USD) a loaf, have caused long lines at distributors. The scarcity of the staple commodity in the world’s most populous Arab country and a top U.S. ally in the Mideast is a stark sign of how rising food prices are effecting poorer countries worldwide.
The poorest among us always feel the effects of crisis first. The shortage of grain and rising food prices world wide are REAL. The effects will reach further up the economic ladder in days to come.
