British PM calls for action on food prices

LONDON, April 10 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is calling on the chairman of the Group 8 of industrialized nations to devise an international plan to deal with rising food prices.

The British prime minister wants Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda to ask the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations to work together on a strategy, the Guardian reported on Thursday.

"Rising food prices threaten to roll back progress we have made in recent years on development. For the first time in decades, the number of people facing hunger is growing," Brown was quoted as saying.

"The international community needs a fully coordinated response. We need both short-term action to deal with immediate hardship, and a medium-term response which will provide a framework for tackling the opportunities and challenges," he added.

The prime minister said short-term measures may include giving more support to food-importing developing countries and stepping up humanitarian aid.

This week has seen warnings that soaring global food prices are not a temporary phenomenon, and that there are likely to be more food riots that could cause political instability.

Five people have died in a week of rioting in Haiti, a rice importer and one of the world's poorest countries.

Brown said the crisis had many elements and that he was demanding a full, coordinated response.

He suggested concluding an elusive deal on the reform of global trade would help in tackling the crisis.

He said small holders in poorer nations would also need help in boosting production, and the impact of the rapid expansion in the production of bio-fuels needs to be examined urgently.