The increase in imported food prices continues amongst a fragile sociopolitical climate

The socio-political environment is calm but fragile, increasingly uncertain following the assassination of the Haitian president on July 7, 2021. Insecurity continues, particularly at the southern entrance to Port-au-Prince, which disrupts the supply of certain markets, and therefore the income of poor and very poor urban households.

Scarcity of fuel is observed in Port-Au-Price, impacted by control of the southern entrance by armed gangs, leading to an increase in the cost of transporting goods and amplifies the upward trend in the prices of products, especially imported products whose prices are already strongly correlated to the exchange rate. However, due to the ongoing harvests, the prices of local products is decreasing (except in Port-au-Prince). Ongoing since June, the harvests of maize, beans and other seasonal crops, are particularly observed in the southern part of the country, increasing local food availability for rural households.

In areas where harvests are below average and in certain districts of the Metropolitan Area of ​​Port-au-Prince, plagued by armed clashes between gangs, poor and very poor households are being forced to adopt more crisis strategies (consumption of early harvests or seeds, sale of wood, reduction in the quality or quantity of meals, begging, etc.) to maintain their current food consumption and will remain in crisis food insecurity (Phase 3 of the CPI).