World food production needs to increase by 50 per cent by the year 2030 to meet rising demand, the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, told food sector leaders this week.
Speaking at the UN food summit, Mr Ban called on countries to remove price controls and minimise export controls to increase food availability to vulnerable people.
The secretary general's comments came as new EU statistics revealed European food prices rose by 7.1 per cent year-on-year in April, the highest annual increase since 1996. Fruit prices in EU member nations rose by 10.7 per cent in April compared with a year before. Vegetables, which fell in price by 1.2 per cent, were the only product to defy the trend.
