OECD Official Urges That Biofuel Subsidies Be Scrapped

BERLIN (AFP)--An Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development agriculture official urged Monday that biofuel subsidies be scrapped, saying this was the quickest way to fight rising food prices.

"I call urgently for reduced support for biofuels," said OECD agriculture director Stefan Tangermannt.

"It is the only lever on which we can act rapidly," he added during an address to a farm forum in Berlin.

The OECD forecasts that food prices, in particular the cost of cereals, will remain high and that development of biofuels is responsible for around one-third of recent increases.