G20 countries are to step in to try to co-ordinate a response to surging food prices, after the worst US drought in half a century devastated crops in the biggest agricultural exporter.

Discussions among senior G20 and UN agriculture officials about calling a session of a new emergency forum come after the cost of corn, or maize, surged to an all-time high, surpassing the level seen during the 2007-08 food crisis.

The US government on Friday stoked fears of a price surge, saying the drought had forced the country’s farmers to abandon cornfields covering a larger area than Belgium and Luxembourg combined. The Department of Agriculture slashed its forecast for the crop and predicted record prices over the next year. At the same time, corn futures jumped 3.1 per cent to an all-time high of $8.43? before slipping.