Female protestors have gathered outside Peru's Congress urging the government to adopt precautionary measures to counter rising food prices.

The Peruvian protesters who outnumbered 1,000 women, banged empty pots and pans and blew whistles on Wednesday to voice their discontent over soaring up food prices which is crippling the poor nations worldwide, Reuters reported on Thursday.

The government has subsidized meals for the poor but the women claim that high food prices have badly affected their nutrition and demanded the government to increase financial aid to make food affordable.

Hundreds of thousands of people rely on subsidized food known as eating halls in Peru.

Inflation for basic foods sank President Alan Garcia's approval rating to 26 percent this month, the lowest level since he took office in 2006.

To counter high food prices, Garcia started sending the army to distribute free bags of food in the poorest neighborhoods of Lima, the capital.

“The pot is empty, Garcia!” the protesters chanted in front of the Congress in downtown Lima.

The worldwide increase in food prices is likely to trigger political instability in many poor countries.

MSM/MMN