Food prices rising amid currency frictions: WB
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
WASHINGTON, Oct 5 (AFP): Recent rises in food prices are once again weighing on some developing countries amid growing global currency frictions, World Bank president Robert Zoellick said yesterday.
"For many developing countries, the food crisis of 2008 has never gone away. And recent prices are a serious cause for concern," Zoellick said in a conference call with reporters.
Zoellick said the 187-nation development lender had reinstated a fast-track financial aid program it had used to help countries cope with the 2007-2008 food crisis that wiped out years of development gains.
"The rise in wheat prices over the last few months is affecting the price of other staples due to the increased demand for substitutes. So we'll have to find a way to avoid food crises becoming the new normal," he said in a briefing ahead of annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Washington set to open Friday.
"For many developing countries, the food crisis of 2008 has never gone away. And recent prices are a serious cause for concern," Zoellick said in a conference call with reporters.
Zoellick said the 187-nation development lender had reinstated a fast-track financial aid program it had used to help countries cope with the 2007-2008 food crisis that wiped out years of development gains.
"The rise in wheat prices over the last few months is affecting the price of other staples due to the increased demand for substitutes. So we'll have to find a way to avoid food crises becoming the new normal," he said in a briefing ahead of annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Washington set to open Friday.