VULNERABLE regions of the world face the risk of famine over the next three years as rising energy costs spill over into a food crunch, the US investment bank Goldman Sachs says.

"We've never been at a point in commodities where we are today," said Jeff Currie, the bank's commodity chief and oil guru.

Global oil output has been stagnant for four years, failing to keep up with rampant demand from Asia and the Middle East. China's oil imports rose 14 per cent last year. Biofuels from grain, oil seed and sugar are plugging the gap, but drawing away food supplies at a time when the world is adding more than 70 million mouths to feed a year.

"Markets are as tight as a drum and now the US has hit the stimulus button," Mr Currie said in his 2008 outlook. "We have never seen this before when commodity prices were already at record highs. Over the next 18 to 36 months we are probably going into crisis mode across the commodity complex.