UN chief calls for attention to food price crisis

The 12th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has opened in Ghana. This year's theme is "addressing the opportunities and challenges of globalization for development."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon says huge increases in prices of food staples could erase progress made towards UN-set goals of halving world poverty by 2015. He says the current crisis in parts of Asia and Africa could result in a cascade of others, and may become a multidimensional problem affecting economic growth, social progress and even political security around the world.

Ban Ki-moon notes several countries have moved to try to offset the food squeeze by barring exports of rice and wheat, or introducing incentives for easier imports.