The World Bank says global food prices have reached dangerous levels and warns that their impact could complicate political situations in the Middle East and Central Asia.
New World Bank figures show higher food prices - mainly for wheat, maize, sugars and edible oils - have pushed 44 million more people in developing countries into extreme poverty since June 2010.
Bank chief Robert Zoellick says although higher food prices were not the main cause of recent protests in Egypt and Tunisia, they were an aggravating factor and could become worse.
He warns that a sharp rise in food prices across Central Asia could also have social and political implications for that region.
The World Bank says global food prices have reached dangerous levels, and warns that their impact could complicate political situations in the Middle East and Central Asia.
The World Bank report comes days before a meeting of the Group of 20 major economies in France, where higher food prices and the reasons for those upward spikes will be discussed.
