Pope Benedict XVI on Friday called for action against "speculation" on commodity markets, as he met the newly-named Brazilian chief of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation in the Vatican.

"Food has become an object of speculation linked to the performance of a financial market without clear rules and with thin moral principles, the sole aim of which is profit," Benedict said at the meeting.

"Food is part of the fundamental right to life. Guaranteeing it means acting directly and without delay on factors in the farming sector that weigh down on production, distribution mechanisms and the international market," he said.

Food prices have risen to record highs in recent months, aggravating social tensions in many developing countries and increasing hunger rates. The Group of 20 (G20) leading world economies has vowed to crack down on price volatility.

Benedict also called on Jose Graziano da Silva, a former Brazilian minister who takes over at the UN agency on January 1, to respond to expectations of "concrete solutions for those who suffer from hunger and malnutrition".

"My thoughts are on the situation of millions of children who are the first victims of this tragedy," the pope was quoted as saying at Friday's meeting in comments released by the Vatican press office.

He said hungry children were "condemned to early deaths and delays in their physical and psychological development and are coerced into forms of exploitation just to receive a minimum of nourishment."

He said hunger was the result of "egoistic attitudes... reflected in social actions, economic actions and market conditions."