Singapore - East Asian government ministers called for a "holistic and sustainable approach" to the spiralling food and fuel prices besetting the region, a statement said Wednesday.

The ministers of the 10-country Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), plus China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand, noted that the problems of high food and oil prices are closely interlinked.

"We should pursue a holistic and sustainable approach to these issues given their inter-related nature, in particular the need to balance between food and biofuels production," the ministers said in a statement.

They noted that while the countries in the region have made great strides in the areas of energy efficiency and conservation, much more remains to be done.

"East Asia countries could also consider... encouraging the private sector to participate in the development of alternative energy sources like hydro-power and biofuels, as well as concrete measures to address the problem of oil speculation," the ministers said.

On the issue of food security, the ministers called for greater investments in research and development, as well as in developing techniques "to exploit more inhospitable agricultural environments for food production." (dpa)