(Bloomberg) -- Peru Finance Minister Oscar Graham announced fuel and food tax cuts as protests led by farmers and truckers have intensified across the South American country.
The government decided to reduce a selective consumption tax for fuel by 90% and will propose a bill to exempt basic food items like chicken, eggs, flour and noodles from sales tax, Graham said.
The announcement comes as Graham and other ministers traveled to Huancayo in the central region of Junin amid protests that have mounted over six days. Protesters clashed with police, and shops and ATMs were looted, La Republica newspaper reported.
Annual inflation in Peru reached its fastest pace in 24 years in March, and the strike led by farmers and truckers has added to costs. President Pedro Castillo agitated the protesters when he said some leaders had been paid to organize demonstrations. The ongoing unrest led Castillo to apologize in televised remarks Saturday.
“I want to make it to clear to the country and to my compatriots that when I address the Peruvian people and, in some of those statements, there’s a misunderstanding, I have to clarify it by apologizing or asking forgiveness from the people,” Castillo said.
Castillo earlier this week survived an attempt to impeach him, but the rising prices and protests are presenting a new crisis. A leader in the farming sector, a group that backed him and helped him win the presidency, called Castillo’s actions amid the protests a betrayal.
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