13 April 2008
Following today’s meeting of the World Bank Development Committee, UK Minister for International Development Douglas Alexander commented:
"Much has been said this week about rising food prices, but now is the time for urgent action to tackle the crisis which is affecting millions of the poorest people across the globe.
"At today’s meeting I’ve signaled the UK’s willingness to work with others to address both the immediate and longer-term challenges in order to take action to cut food prices.
"The effect of present high commodity prices isn’t limited to food though. Rising energy costs threaten to reverse the gains we’ve made in development in recent years and we remain concerned about high and volatile oil prices. It’s important that global oil supplies are sufficient to ensure that the market has flexibility to respond to potential supply shocks and changes in demand. Both producers and consumers need to respond flexibly to market signals.
"Given suggestions that OPEC is considering cutting production to keep prices high, this issue should be high on the agenda of the Energy Ministers meeting in Rome next week."
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