Officials from G20 countries will hold a teleconference on Monday to discuss surging world food prices.
They are expected to negotiate increasing food reserves, avoiding export limits and raising food production in developing countries. The meeting comes after the worst US drought in half a century devastated crops in the world’s largest agricultural exporter. The drought in the US and poor harvests in central Asia have raised fears of a global food crisis.
US corn and soy bean prices have soared to record highs, surpassing levels seen during the 2007-08 food crises. Meanwhile, signs of hoarding and high volume trading of food on international markets have begun to appear.