UNCTAD chief urges gov't action to increase food production

Supachai Panitchpakdi, chief of UN trade and development body UNCTAD, said here Saturday that governments should not count on market alone to adjust food production and should take actions to increase food production.

"For years we have been told that the market .. balance in everything, we think price can determine the best production structure, now we know that because of the huge demand, the weather conditions, energy prices, we just cannot leave the food production to the market alone," Supachai said one day before the 12th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to be convened Sunday.

He urged developed countries to pledge substantial support for the least developed countries, which suffer the biggest strike from the food crisis, and reduce agricultural subsidies.

Supachai said the worldwide food crisis is mainly a result of rapid increase of population, climate change, production of milk and biofeuls which costs large amount of crops and increase of energy prices.

The food prices have increasingly risen since 2002. World wheat prices had soared 181 percent and overall food prices had shot up 83 percent over the past three years by the end of February, according to a World Bank report.

Meanwhile, the global food reservation has dropped to the lowest level since 1980, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.