Recent rises in food prices are once again weighing on some developing nations amid growing global currency frictions, World Bank president Robert Zoellick said on Monday.

‘‘For many developing countries, the food crisis of 2008 has never gone away. And recent prices are a serious cause for concern,’’ Zoellick said.

Zoellick said the 187-nation development lender had reinstated a fast-track financial aid program it had used to help nations cope with the 2007-2008 food crisis that wiped out years of development gains.

‘‘The rise in wheat prices over the last few months is affecting the price of other staples due to the increased demand for substitutes,’’ Zoellick said in a briefing ahead of annual meetings of the World Bank and the

International Monetary Fund in Washington set to open on Friday.