Global food prices rose in September to reach a 10-year peak, driven by gains for cereals and vegetable oils, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Thursday.
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly-traded food commodities, averaged 130.0 points in September, the highest indicator since September 2011. The index is up 1.2% from August and 32.8% higher than its level in the same month last year.
The FAO Cereal Price Index in September increased by 2% from the previous month, with world wheat prices up almost 4% due to tightening export availabilities amid strong demand.
World vegetable oil prices were up 1.7% on the month and showing a year-on-year rise of around 60%, due to robust global import demand and concerns over migrant labor shortages impacting production in Malaysia, the FAO said.
The FAO index of dairy costs increased by 1.5% from August, while a measure of sugar prices was 0.5% higher from the previous month and 53.5% from a year earlier.
The FAO also projected a record global cereal output of 2.8 billion tons in 2021, adding that would be below consumption projections of 2.811 billion tons, a forecast revised up by 2.7 billion tons from a month earlier mainly to reflect increased wheat use in livestock feed.
