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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging world leaders to immediately suspend or eliminate many price controls and other agricultural trade restrictions to bring down soaring food prices.
Mr Ban pressed nations at a summit of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation in Rome overnight to ease a wide range 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.
He wants the United States and other nations to phase out subsidies for food-based biofuels, including ethanol, that have encouraged farmers to grow crops for energy use rather than eating.
If his plan is accepted, it would be good news for New Zealand, as the food export industry is likely to be tens of millions of dollars better off.
New Zealand farmers receive no subsidies, but the average dairy farmer pays nearly $40,000 a year in tariffs to other countries.
Sheep farmers pay up to $20,000 a year.
Federated Farmers national president Charlie Pedersen told the Herald last night New Zealand had been urging such a move for many years.
Any reduction of tariffs would be "very significant" to New Zealand exporters.
It would bring down the cost of food and would hugely benefit the world's poorest people.
"Such a move will cause farmers from the third world to be inspired to produce. They will be able to do it at a price they can afford."
Meat and Wool New Zealand technical policy manager Ben O'Brien said beef exports to the United States and lamb exports to Europe were worth $1 billion each to New Zealand farmers.
"Anything that is going to level the playing field for New Zealand producers is a good thing."
He said the United Nations could only suggest such moves, and New Zealand producers would have to wait and see which countries took up the proposals.
The World Bank and humanitarian agencies have been demanding action to curb soaring prices that could push up to 100 million people into hunger.
"World public opinion has been taken by surprise by the explosion of a rapid chain of events affecting food followed by the rapid, dramatic rise in the price of foodstuffs," Italian President Giorgio Napolitano said in a speech opening the summit.
Forty-four national leaders are attending, including the Japanese, French and Spanish prime ministers, the presidents of major farming nations such as Brazil and Argentina and the leaders of many African nations including Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe.
Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made his first trip to the European Union as his country's president to attend the summit.
Agriculture minister Jim Anderton is leading an 11-person New Zealand delegation to the summit.
Delegates at the three days of talks will discuss issues such as aid, trade and technology to improve farm yields.
Hunger campaigners single out biofuels - often made by converting food crops into fuel - as a prime culprit for the crisis.
Biofuel supporters say the effect on food prices of diverting crops into ethanol production is small.
US Agriculture Secretary Ed Shafer said before the summit began that biofuels accounted for about 3 per cent of the total food price rise.
But the Oxfam aid organisation says the real effect is about 30 per cent.
The global problem
The cost of main food commodities has doubled over the past two years. Rice, corn and wheat are at record highs.
Some prices are at their highest levels in 30 years, causing protests and riots in many poor countries.
The food crisis could push up to 100 million people into hunger.
Impact in New Zealand
Supermarket prices for basic items such as bread, milk and cheese have soared.
Many households have been hard-hit by increases in food prices, petrol prices and mortgage interest rates.
The price increases have eaten away at promised tax cuts and look likely to dominate this year's election.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AP, REUTERS
