Food prices rise 2.15% for climate impact

Wholesale prices of food rose 2.15 percent in January, well above the 0.27 percent rise on the same month last year by the impact of El Nino weather phenomenon on crops, the Ministry of Agriculture.

The variation in the first month of this year also contrasted with the fall of 0.21 percent reported that food prices in December.
Foods contribute nearly a third of total inflation in the country.
"The reason for this increase is specifically the problems we had with tubers, especially damage (crops) in the subject of potato frost and for the same reason vegetables and cold-weather vegetables, where we have major increases (price ), "said Agriculture Minister Andres Fernandez.

Analysts estimate that the impact of El Niño, an abnormal warming of waters in the equatorial Pacific that disrupts global weather patterns, especially around the Asia-Pacific region will remain on crops in the country during the first quarter of this year.

But the Climate Prediction Center of the U.S. government believes that the phenomenon will last until the start of the summer of 2010 in June.
The major increases in prices were in charge of the tubers, at 8.85 percent, vegetables and vegetable 4.37 percent, the various food segment in 2.41 percent, fruit by 1 , 8 per cent and meat by 0.87 percent.

The good behavior of food prices was one of the main factors that Colombia achieved a 2 percent inflation in 2009, well below the target set by the Central Bank for that year, between 4.5 and 5.5 percent.By 2010 the monetary authority set an inflation target of 2 to 4 percent.

The National Statistics Department (DANE) plans to disclose the report of the January inflation on Friday, February 5th.