April 15 (Bloomberg) -- Corn and soybeans rose for a second straight day on speculation global demand will increase as nations seek to slow inflation and avoid food shortages.

The Philippines, the biggest rice importer, yesterday urged Asian nations to convene an emergency meeting on the region's food crisis. Kazakhstan, the world's fifth-largest wheat exporter, banned shipments of the grain until Sept. 1 to control domestic prices for bread and other foods. Wheat and rice prices have doubled to records in the past year.

``Countries are in a buying panic about corn and soybeans,'' said Mark Schultz, a vice president for Northstar Commodity Investments in Minneapolis. ``If there is any global weather problem this year, corn and soybeans will be substantially higher than they are today. No one wants to suffer a food shortage.''

Corn futures for May delivery advanced 14.25 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $6.06 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. On April 9, the most-active contract reached a record $6.16. The price has climbed 59 percent in the past year.

Futures for December delivery, reflecting the new crop, rose as much as 2.6 percent to a record $6.29 a bushel.

Soybean futures for July delivery gained 7.75 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $13.97 a bushel. The price has surged 89 percent in the past year, reaching a record $15.8625 on March 3.

Soybean-oil futures for July delivery rose 1.02 cents, or 1.6 percent, to 63.27 cents a pound. The price has soared 88 percent in the past year, reaching a record 72.69 cents on March 4.

Biofuels, Inflation

U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said last week his government is concerned that biofuels are stimulating inflation and pushing up food prices around the world.

Global food prices increased 57 percent last month from a year earlier, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Rising costs have triggered protests in countries including Indonesia and Egypt.

Prices paid to U.S. producers climbed 1.1 percent in March, almost twice as much as forecast, Labor Department data showed today. Food prices rose 1.2 percent, led by increases in vegetables, rice, beef and veal. The 8.7 percent gain in rice was the biggest since 2002.

Corn and soybeans rose as energy costs climbed, signaling demand for biofuels will increase. Crude oil and gasoline futures rose to records today.

``The rally in crude oil is driving inflation and speculator demand for commodities,'' said Jerry Gidel, a market analyst at North American Risk Management Services Inc. in Chicago. ``Crude-oil gains are boosting ethanol margins and production.''

Wet Weather

Wet weather threatens timely planting of corn and soybeans, analysts said.

Fields from Oklahoma to Wisconsin may get more than 2 inches of rain in the next five days with above-normal rainfall forecast for most of the Midwest from April 20 to April 26, according to the National Weather Service.

About 2 percent of the U.S. corn crop was planted as of April 13, compared with 4 percent a year earlier and 7 percent on average in the prior five years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said yesterday in a report.

That marked the slowest planting pace for corn since 1993, according to Bill Nelson, a vice president at Wachovia Securities LLC in St. Louis. In that year, widespread flooding in the Midwest drove yields down 23 percent from 1992.

`Window Closing'

The yield potential for corn declines unless seeds are sown before the end of April in the southern Midwest or by the middle of May in the rest of the region, because plants need to pollinate before the arrival of hot summer weather. Wet soils also hinder seed germination rates and development of deeper root systems. Planting of soybeans usually begins in early May.

``The window for planting corn is quickly closing,'' Gidel of North American Risk Management Services said. ``It will be difficult for U.S. planting progress to exceed 10 percent next week,'' compared with 22 percent on average in the previous five years, he said.

Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, valued at a record $52.1 billion in 2007, followed by soybeans at $26.8 billion, government data show.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Wilson in Chicago at jwilson29@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 15, 2008 16:02 EDT