Ban Ki-Moon will press nations to ease a wide variety of farming taxes, export bans and import tariffs to help millions of the world's poor cope with the highest food prices in 30 years, UN officials said.

Ban also intends to request that the United States and other nations phase out subsidies for food-based biofuels, including ethanol, that have been used to encourage farmers to grow crops for energy use rather than human consumption.

He plans to make his appeal on Tuesday in Rome at a summit of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation where he hopes the donor nations will develop a concrete plan to revitalise and redirect the global response to hunger.

"What we are looking for is at least an agreement on how to deal with the issue of biofuels and subsidies that is not detrimental to the needs of poor people," said a UN official in New York who was among several speaking on condition of anonymity so as not to upstage Ban's speech.

"They are a bunch of options for governments, donors and other sectors to pick and choose from," said another UN official, who is in Rome.

The official also described Ban's proposals as "confidence-building measures."

Food prices have been skyrocketing worldwide due to high oil prices, changing diets, urbanisation, expanding populations, flawed trade policies, extreme weather, growth in biofuels production and speculation.

They have sparked riots and protests from Africa to Asia and raised fears that millions more will suffer from malnutrition.

Source: By DDNEWS