Nestle's chairman, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, has backed those who criticise the use of food crops for biofuels.
Speaking at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture in Berlin, Brabeck-Letmathe said that food should be for people, not for cars. He said it was "nonsense" to use food crops for biofuels at a time of rising world food prices, according to a report by Bloomberg at the weekend.
However, Brabeck-Letmathe rejected claims from some quarters that investor speculation causes prices to rise.
Last week, the United Nations' Food & Agriculture Organisation said that average food commodity prices dropped by 7% in 2012 versus 2011.
Many industry experts, though, believe that price volatility - rather than price rises - is a bigger risk.
In a report released today (21 January), Rabobank analysts warned that agricultural markets globally are "undervaluing" risk to supplies of key commodities.
"Record-low stock levels leave agricultural markets, particularly grains and oilseeds, vulnerable to increasing volatility in the year ahead," said Rabobank.
"Longer-term volatility in agricultural markets is also on the rise as the world's incremental demand growth is being met by less reliable production regions," analysts added.
