Germany's Merkel urges action to dampen food prices

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday urged countries across the globe to take action to dampen food price inflation, adding that the issue would be raised at the next Group of Eight (G8) summit.

"It is very important that the global community does what it can to dampen food prices," Merkel told reporters at a joint news conference with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

She said western countries should act in concert to tackle the problem, but noted there would be no quick solution to it.

The next G8 summit is in Tokyo in June.

Speaking on German radio earlier on Wednesday, German Agriculture Minister Horst Seehofer said he did not expect to see further sharp gains in food prices in future.

"I think food prices ... in Europe and Germany, will settle down, and won't be the inflation driver in future," he said.