UN agency requests biofuel subsidy review
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08/10/2008
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International Herald Tribune (Bangkok)
ROME: A UN agency called on Tuesday for an urgent review of agriculture and biofuel subsidies and trade barriers, saying their removal would increase opportunities for developing countries to take advantage of rising biofuel demand.
Imposing price controls and export bans prevents markets from adjusting and may prolong and deepen the food crisis, the Food and Agriculture Organization said in a newly released report.
"Current policies tend to favor producers in some developed countries over producers in most developing countries," the FAO director-general, Jacques Diouf, said. "The challenge is to reduce or manage the risks while sharing the opportunities more widely." (AP)