Food prices close to record levels

Almaty. February 16. Kazakhstan Today - World Bank chief Robert Zoellick said food prices are at "dangerous levels" and threaten tens of millions of poor people around the world, Kazakhstan Today reports.

World Bank chief Robert Zoellick on Tuesday said global food prices have reached "dangerous levels," and warned that their impact could complicate fragile political and social conditions in the Middle East and Central Asia, Reuters reported.

World Bank data released on Tuesday showed 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 although higher food prices were not the main cause leading to recent protests in Egypt and Tunisia, it was 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 that region.

The World Bank chief said the international community needed to be aware of such risks and should not exacerbate problems by imposing policies, such as export bans or price fixing, that would push global food prices even higher.

The Bank called on this week's G20 meeting to address the problem, BBC News reported.

Finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 group of developed and developing nations are meeting later this week in Paris.

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