Trade ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN have agreed to help each other during the global food crisis and to take collective measures to maintain the stability of rice prices and boost production.

Global food prices have nearly doubled in three years, according to the World Bank, sparking riots last month in Egypt and Haiti, protests in other countries and restrictions on food exports from Brazil, Vietnam, India and Egypt.
 
World Bank President Robert Zoellick has said 2 billion people across the world are struggling with high food prices, and 100 million people in poor countries may be pushed deeper into poverty by the crisis.