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 30 August 2008 12:12 BST

IMF head warns of consequences of rising food prices

Sunday, 13 Apr 2008 10:47
The rising price of staples such as wheat and rice have led to riots in Haiti and Egypt
The managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Dominique Strauss Kahn has warned of the danger of rising food prices.

Speaking at a press conference after the international organisation's spring meeting, he said the higher cost of purchasing staples such as wheat and rice could have "terrible" consequences.

Mr Kahn said: "Hundreds of thousands of people will be starving ... (leading) to disruption of the economic environment."

He added that economic progress in the last decade would be "totally destroyed" if the trend continued and said war remained a possibility if the prices of essential crops were not lowered.

The chief of the body tasked with maintaining global financial stability also warned that the issue was not only a "humanitarian" concern in the developing world as the problems could also harm the prosperity of the developed world.

There have been riots in Haiti and Egypt over the rising costs of living and many countries have introduced export controls in a bid to lower domestic prices.
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