WASHINGTON (AP) - World Bank President Robert Zoellick says
global food prices have hit "dangerous levels" that could
contribute to political instability, push millions of people into
poverty and raise the cost of groceries.

The bank says in a new report that global food prices have
jumped 29 percent in the past year, and are just 3 percent below
the all-time peak hit in 2008. Zoellick says the rising prices have
hit people hardest in the developing world because they spend as
much as half their income on food.
 

The World Bank estimates higher prices for corn, wheat and oil
have pushed 44 million people into extreme poverty since last June.
 

Zoellick said he expects food prices to continue to rise, and
that export bans and weather disruptions are partly to blame.