Mexico Announces Measures to Counter Rising Food Prices

Mexican President Felipe Calderon said Sunday that his government will take measures to help people in extreme poverty overcome rising food prices.

We will not allow the poorest families to pay the consequences of a situation created beyond our borders, Calderon said.

He said tariffs on wheat, corn, rice, sorghum and soy pasta would be eliminated, adding that a quota of beans would be imported tax-free and duties on powdered milk would be slashed by half.

Measures would also be strengthened to boost the production of food and raise the productivity of the Mexican countryside, said the president.

Mexico's consumer prices rose 4.55 percent in the 12 months ending April 30, mostly due to soaring prices of major food products. 

Source: CRIEnglish