By KRYSTEL ROLLE, Guardian Staff Reporter, krystel@nasguard.com

Rising energy costs and food prices are causing "severe" hardship in the Caribbean, according to Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, who voiced CARICOM's commitment to address these and other related issues.

Food security was one of the many issues Ingraham, who was acting in his capacity of Chairman of CARICOM, touched on at the CARIFORUM European Union Summit held in Lima, Peru over the weekend.

"We are committed in the Caribbean to addressing the inter-related issues of climate change, energy, food security, and sustainable development within a broad framework. There is much room for dialogue and cooperation between Europe and the Caribbean on this framework," said the prime minister while addressing the summit. He reported that a joint task force will be established to examine these issues. The task force will also make a "critical" contribution by identifying the relationship between these issues and develop concrete measures to address them, he added.

Nearly the entire Caribbean region is suffering from heightened prices on food items, a blow which most governments have been unable to cushion.

A spike in the cost of fuel, which has escalated dramatically in recent months, is one of the driving forces behind the increases. The price of crude oil per barrel is currently about $127.

The prices of flour and rice are seemingly the most affected items, though breadbasket items in general have also seen price jumps.

The spike in food prices has reportedly propelled residents of Haiti to riot in the capital of Port-au-Prince, and have also resulted in the dismissal of that country's Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis.

In addition, the Pan American Health Organization has listed Caribbean nations Dominica, St. Lucia, Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic as countries facing food crises, according to a recent BBC Caribbean report.

Many factors, including drought, floods and a growing demand for biofuels were identified as reasons behind the crisis.

Meanwhile, during the CARIFORUM summit, Prime Minister Ingraham also focused on other issues, including the promotion of a sustainable EU-Caribbean partnership, climate change, political dialogue, and regional integration.

Ingraham said Europe and the Caribbean have been engaged in constructive dialogue on a number of political issues, and have committed to strengthening this dialogue within the broader EU-CARIFORUM partnership.

"Issues such as the continued deepening of democracy and economic development in Haiti will require continued constructive cooperation between the two sides," he noted.