Demand for biofuels boosting food prices

ROME, May 29 (UPI) -- The United Nations said food prices are being pushed higher by weather-related crop shortages and high demand for biofuels.

A report by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, released ahead of the upcoming conference on World Food Security in Rome, said urgent measures are needed to boost agricultural production and protect the poor from being hurt by high food prices.

"The current dramatic world food situation reminds us of the fragility of the balance between global food supplies and the needs of the world's inhabitants, and of the fact that earlier commitments to accelerate progress towards the eradication of hunger have not been met," FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf said in a statement."

The report said production and trade policies on biofuels need to be re-examined in light of their possible effects on international food markets.

"The emerging biofuels market is a new and significant source of demand for some agricultural commodities such as sugar, maize, cassava, oilseeds and palm oil," the report said.