Rice nations to discuss cartel

Rice-exporting nations plan to discuss a proposed cartel to control the price of the staple food today, a day after a regional development bank called for sharper fiscal policies to help a billion poor people in Asia cope with skyrocketing food prices.

Underscoring the fallout from price rises that have sparked food riots in Haiti, Egypt and Somalia, the Asian Development Bank said its growth estimate for Asia this year would be cut if prices continued to rise, and that next year would be even worse, erasing the gains made in recent decades across the region.