FAO: Nine months of rising world food prices

For nine months now, food prices have become more expensive on international markets, especially sugar and vegetable oils, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has reported. The FAO food price index, which tracks the monthly change in food prices, the most internationally significant, rose 2.4%, 26.5% from a year ago. After shrinking production in major producing countries and putting strong demand pressure on the market in Asia, the sugar price index rose above 6%. The expected recovery of production in Thailand and the outstanding harvest in India have somewhat dampened the rise in prices. The price of vegetable oils has reached an unprecedented level since April 2012 with a 6.2% rise in prices. They also asked for more for palm, soybean, canola and sunflower oil. The FAO dairy price index rose 1.7% as China’s demand for butter soared, coupled with scarce Western European stocks. Meanwhile, cheese prices have fallen, mainly as a result of ample U.S. ...