Arab states need to set up strategic stockpiles of cereal and other basic farm products to face any crisis and offset sharp rises in global commodity prices given their heavy reliance on food imports, according to an official group.

In a 100-page study on Arab food security, AOAD said such cross-border and local stockpiles should primarily include cereal, oil and other basic food items, adding that an agreement is needed for their geographical distribution.

"The strongest reason for establishing such stockpiles is that the Arab world is a food-deficit zone...it is a known fact that the region is suffering from a big gap in most farm products, mainly cereal, because annual farm production hardly covers half the domestic consumption at present," it said.

"The latest global food crisis forced many cereal producing countries to take measures to curb exports of such products...such policies, combined with growing regional and global risks, and the negative effects of the global fiscal distress on investments make the establishment of a strategic pan-Arab food stockpile an inevitable project of paramount importance."

Except for fish, vegetable and other minor crops, Arab nations are suffering from a persistent shortage in all types of farm products and the gap has steadily worsened over the past two decades, according to AOAD.