New York, June 11 - PepsiCo Inc Chief Executive Officer Indra Nooyi criticized Washington Wednesday for not doing enough to counter the soaring cost of oil.
"I don't think in recent years we've seen such a sudden ramp-up in energy costs," Nooyi said at a discussion at a conference hosted by The Wall Street Journal.
"What is particularly worrisome is, given the spike in energy costs ... I don't see anybody in Washington or anywhere saying 'Look, this energy crisis is the biggest one we've had, let's really put the best people to work on figuring out how to reduce the country's dependence on oil."'
U.S. crude oil prices jumped nearly $6 Wednesday to $137.16 after a government report showed domestic stockpiles fell sharply for the fourth week in a row. Last week, they set a record near $140.
Oil prices have risen nearly seven-fold since 2002, driven in part by rising demand from China and other developing countries, as well as the falling U.S. dollar.
"Energy is the single biggest issue we have to deal with, and I'm still waiting for something like that to come out of the current election campaign," she added.
Nooyi called it "a little surprising" that more progress had not been made on the issue, given how broad the pain of high oil prices extends.
"I just don't see the kind of leadership we saw ... when (President John F.) Kennedy said 'Let's put a man on the moon and bring him back,"' Nooyi added.
PepsiCo is among the world's largest food and beverage companies, with annual sales of more than $39 billion and brands ranging from Pepsi-Cola, SoBe and Tropicana to Gatorade, Frito-Lay and Quaker.