World Bank President Robert Zoellick on Wednesday urged a new coordinated global response to deal with soaring food prices that contribute to hunger, malnutrition, and instability. Speaking ahead of World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings in Washington next week, Zoellick said the global food crisis requires the attention of political leaders in every country because higher prices and price volatility were likely to continue. Severe weather in food-producing countries and a boom in demand from fast-developing nations have increased prices of basic foods by 80 percent since 2005. Last month, rice prices hit a 19-year high. Wheat prices rose to a 28-year high, double the average price over the past 25 years. Around the world, protests against higher food prices are increasing, and governments are responding with often counterproductive controls on prices and exports, Zoellick said, adding that the World Bank estimated that 33 countries could face social unrest because of higher food and energy prices. With shifting population patterns, higher energy prices, and demand for biofuels draining inventories of corn, no one country alone can deal with the problem, Zoellick said. “A shift from traditional food aid to a broader concept of food and nutrition assistance must be part of this new deal,” he said. Zoellick said the global response should begin with providing help to those most in need, and he called on rich countries, including the United States, Japan, and European Union members, to immediately fill a $500 million funding gap at the U.N. World Food Program to provide aid to the world's poorest. The food crisis also highlighted the need to conclude a long-awaited deal in the Doha round of World Trade Organization (WTO) talks, which would reduce distorting agricultural subsidies and open markets for more food imports, the World Bank chief said. Zoellick, a former U.S. chief trade negotiator, said trade barriers on food hurt the world's poor and deter farm production. A more fair and open global trading system for agriculture would give farmers in developing nations more opportunities and confidence to expand food production, he said. “The solution is to break the Doha Development Agenda impasse in 2008,” he said. “There is a good deal on the table. It's now or never.”
