Soaring food prices could encourage nations to remove barriers on food imports, but there is also a risk panic over food could hurt global trade, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab told Reuters on Sunday.

Progress has been made in talks over a long-delayed global trade deal, although a renewed push was needed in some areas to meet a goal of passing the Doha round this year, she said.

Schwab, who was attending a Southeast Asian trade meeting on the Indonesian resort of Bali, said it was only just becoming clear what impact the food crisis was having on world trade.

"It seems to be sort of a push me, pull you kind of impact," she said, noting that Doha could get impetus from countries bringing down barriers on food imports, but adding that new trade distortions could also emerge from worries over access to food.

(Article continues below)

"Which really would hurt the Doha round, because it flies in the face of what you should really be doing, which is really eliminating as many distortions as you can so you have a free flow of food," she said.

Countries including India, Vietnam, Indonesia and Brazil have imposed curbs on food exports in a bid to secure domestic supplies and limit inflation, spooking big food importers.

In Asia, in particular, concern over rice prices is growing after several countries imposed export restrictions.

Full article here.