Increased transparency is needed in future markets for vital commodities such as food, said the report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) which also stressed the importance of regulators having greater power to step in when speculation in futures drives up the price of food.

There have been speculative bubbles for certain commodities on some occasions, the publication, entitled "The Global Economic Crisis: Systemic Failures and Multilateral Remedies," found and pointed out that speculation in housing, currencies and commodities led to a disconnect from the 'real' economy because appropriate prices could not be determined.

By the time these bubbles had burst, the current global economic crisis was inevitable, UNCTAD said.

The "herd" behaviour behind this kind of speculation went unregulated, the report stated, appealing for reforms of the international financial and monetary systems to allow for government intervention and international oversight.

It pegged greed as the reason for the severity of the current crisis, and said there should have been regulations and practical policies in place to anticipate short-sightedness.