BISSAU, AFRICA - MORE than 100 tonnes of rotting rice are being sold in the impoverished African country of Guinea-Bissau, which has been hit by the spike in food prices worldwide, a consumer group said on Sunday.

'It's a large quantity of rice - more than 100 tonnes - which had been stocked for a long time and is unfit for consumption that is being offloaded by dishonest traders,' Bambo Sanha, head of the Guinea-Bissau Association of Consumers of Goods and Services said.

No official in the former Portuguese colony, one of Africa's poorest nations, was available for comment.

Mr Sanha said the rice was basically being sold in the remote interior at a price lower than that of fragrant rice, which is consumed by most households.

He said a 50kg sack was being sold at 12,000 CFA francs (S$36) against 16,500 CFA francs for the normal variety. It was often bought in barter trade against cashewnuts, the country's main cash crop.

Mr Sanha said the 'old rice' was a public health hazard. It had a different tint and gave off a nauseating odour when cooked, according to others.

Guinea-Bissau produces around 60,000 tonnes of rice annually, less than half of its yearly consumption of 140,000 tonnes.

Global food prices have nearly doubled in three years, according to the World Bank, sparking riots in Egypt and Haiti, protests in other countries and restrictions on food exports from Brazil, Vietnam, India and Egypt.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick has said two billion people across the world are struggling with high food prices, and 100 million people in poor countries may be pushed deeper into poverty by the crisis. -- AFP