World Bank chief: food prices hit 'dangerous levels'
2011-02-17 17:02:39
World Bank chief Robert Zoellick on Tuesday said global food prices had reached "dangerous levels," and warned that their impact could com-plicate fragile political and social conditions in the Middle East and Central Asia.
World Bank data released Tuesday showed that higher food prices –mainly for wheat, maize, sugars and edible oils - have pushed 44 million more people in developing countries into extreme poverty since June 2010.
"There is no room for complacency," Zoellick told a conference call. "Global food prices are now at dangerous levels and it is also clear that recent food price rises are causing pain and suffering for poor people around the globe."
Zoellick said that although higher food prices were not the main cause of recent protests in Egypt and Tunisia, they were an aggravating factor and could become worse.
He warned that a sharp rise in food prices across Central Asia could also have social and political implications for the region.
The World Bank report comes days before a meeting of the Group of 20 major economies in France where higher food prices and the reasons for those spikes will be discussed.