An additional 64 million poor in Asia this year

(April 28, 2011) The Asian Development Bank has said that higher food and fuel prices will increase the ranks of the poor this year. According to a recent report by the Asian Development Bank – ADB, food prices soared by an average of 10 per cent in many Asian countries in the first months of this year. It warned that if food and fuel prices remain high, due to unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, inflation would continue to rise, forcing tens of millions of people into poverty. According to the ADB's chief economist, Changyong Rhee, even if Asian economies have weathered recent economic shocks, for poor families in developing Asia, who already spend more than 60 per cent of their income on food, higher prices will further reduce their ability to pay for medical care and their children's education.” He said in many Asian economies, a 10 per cent hike in domestic food inflation can push an additional 64 million people into extreme poverty, a situation defined as living on less than a dollar a day.