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| Central Africa In Central Africa, in spite of measures taken by Governments to cushion the impact of high international commodity prices, food prices continue to climb on domestic markets, seriously eroding the purchasing power of consumers. In the Central African Republic, the price of rice increased by 71 percent between January and June. Prices of other food items such as cassava, oil and meat more than doubled over the same period. In Cameroon, where the Government recently increased the salaries of civil servants by 15 percent and waived import tariffs on a set of foodstuffs, food prices continue to increase as well. In both countries, rains have been adequate since the beginning of the cropping season in April and harvesting of the first 2008 maize crop is about to start. This is expected to ease the effects of rising international commodity prices. In the Central African Republic, however, agricultural recovery continues to be hampered by persistent civil unrest and inadequate availability of agricultural inputs, notably in northern parts where nearly 300 000 people have reportedly been uprooted from their homes over the past two years. Continuing insecurity in both Chad and the Darfur region of Sudan threaten to further destabilize the situation in northern parts of the country. |