(NewsCore) and [HERE]- WASHINGTON -- Global food prices continued to climb sharply in recent months, forcing millions into poverty and potentially exacerbating already tense conditions in the Middle East, the president of the World Bank said Tuesday.

The bank's food price index rose 15 percent between October of last year and January, up nearly 30 percent from the same period a year ago, and only three percent below the 2008 peak. The increases, which have included sharp price spikes in the cost of wheat and maize, have driven an estimated 44 million people into poverty since last June, the World Bank said.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick told reporters on a conference call that food prices are at "dangerous levels" and said there is reason to worry that it could lead to further unrest in countries such as Egypt and Tunisia, where there is political unrest.

"I'm concerned that higher food prices add to stress points and could add to the fragility that is already there anytime you have revolutions and transitions," Zoellick said, acknowledging bank officials are in close contact with interim authorities in Egypt.

The warning from the World Bank comes days before finance ministers from the Group of 20 industrialized nations are scheduled to meet in Paris to discuss a wide range of issues.

The price of food, as well as inflation more broadly, is already a growing concern for international officials, but Zoellick said it needs to play a larger role in the high-level discussions this week.

"The G-20 has to put food first this year," Zoellick said, adding later that "this is a broad-based problem and it's going to need a comprehensive solution."