Global food prices up, poor at risk – World Bank

WASHINGTON – Global food prices again rose in the first quarter on the back of higher oil prices, putting millions of people at risk of not having enough to eat, the World Bank said Wednesday.

The eight percent increase from December 2011 to March 2012 was due to “higher oil prices, adverse weather conditions, and Asia’s strong demand for food imports,” the World Bank said in its latest Food Price Watch.

The bank’s Global Food Price Index was “only one percent below a year ago and six percent below the February 2011 historic peak,” it said.

“After four months of consecutive price declines, food prices are on the rise again, threatening the food security of millions of people,” said Otaviano Canuto, the bank’s vice president for poverty reduction and economic management.

“Putting food first must remain a priority for the international community and in our work in developing countries.”