World leaders have notified that increasing food prices can lead to social turbulence and even "economic war". Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono asserted that with the world population rising, "the race for scare resources" can lead to conflict.
And French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for regulation to bridle in speculation and instability in costs. But enterprise leaders in the World Economic Forum rejected calls for curbs on commodity speculation.
Future pressure
Mr Yudhoyono said the worldwide population can increase from seven b to more than nine b by year 2045. "Imagine the pressure on food, water, energy and resources," the Indonesian president said. "The next economic conflict or war might be over the race for scarce resources, if we do not manage it together."
Nicolas Sarkozy, meanwhile, who holds the chair of both G20 global economic forum and the G8 main economies, repeated his belief that regulation was needed. "Let those who purchase large quantities of commodities perpetrate to putting on deposit part of the financing for those commodities," he said.
European Unions internal markets commissioner Michel Barnier also condemned conjecture in food commodities, calling it "outrageous". Nevertheless, Nils Anderson, boss of the shipping group AP Moller-Maersk, said it wasn't just speculators accountable for driving up commodity costs.
"You can say when it really is done by speculators, it is untoward. However it can also be carried out by governments attempting to secure food supplies for their population. And it's actually tough to criticise that," he explained.
