LONDON, April 10: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on Thursday for action by the industrialised powers over soaring inflation which has sparked mounting unrest around the globe.

Food riots have rocked Haiti and impoverished Burkina Faso, gripped by a nationwide strike. Dozens have died in riots in Africa.

With the EU already warning that Africa faces a “humanitarian tsunami” due to the rocketing costs of essential foods, Brown demanded the issue be made a top priority at this July’s summit of the Group of Eight, the world’s richest nations.

“For the first time in decades, the number of people facing hunger is growing,” Brown said in a stark warning which highlighted the switch from using crops for “biofuels” instead of feeding the population.

Brown wrote to Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda demanding the G8 summit in Tokyo look at whether biofuels are “responsible and sustainable.” Brown said rising populations, strong demand for commodities from developing countries, and extreme weather were also driving up the cost of food.

His concerns were echoed by French Minister for Human Rights Rama Yade who said there should be a world conference on the issue. “Food security is a global challenge,” she told French radio. “These riots are a major concern to France.”

EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel warned on Tuesday that Africa faces a new disaster if prices continue to rise. “A world food crisis is emerging, less visible than the oil (price) crisis, but with the potential effect of real economic and humanitarian tsunami in Africa,” Michel said.

Food riots in Haiti this week have left at least five dead and 40 injured in the poorest country in the Americas, where UN peacekeepers have had to intervene to prevent looting. UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon has appealed for calm there.

Thousands have been demonstrating in the capital Port-au-Prince against rising food prices, which has seen the cost of rice double from 35 dollars to 70 dollars for a 55-kg sack.

In Africa, landlocked Burkina Faso has been crippled by a general strike over food prices.

Forty people died during price riots in Cameroon in February. There also have been deadly troubles in Ivory Coast and Mauritania and other violent demonstrations in Senegal.

—AFP