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World food prices resume upward trend

Xinhua, September 8, 2016 Adjust font size:

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Food Price Index rose again in August pushed by higher dairy and palm oil prices that were partially offset by lower prices for grains and cereals, FAO reported Thursday.

The overall index rose 1.9 percent and is now about 7.0 percent higher than it was at the same point in 2015. The increase erases a modest drop in the index in July and comes despite an improved global outlook for grains and cereals, which are the largest component in the index.

It was the sixth time in seven months the index rose, after falling steadily for nearly two years.

The FAO predicted the worldwide output for rice, wheat, and corn would top last year's record harvests. That news helped push prices for grains and cereals 3.0 percent lower in August compared to July.

But that decline was not enough to offset price increases in the other sub-indices: dairy prices rose 8.6 percent for the month on lower milk production in the European Union, and prices for oils and fats jumped 7.4 percent.

Prices for sugar were 2.5 percent higher, reaching their highest levels in six years. Meat prices inched up 0.3 percent, based on higher prices for feed.

The next installment of the FAO index, which is based on a basket of 55 goods and 73 price quotations in five major food commodity groups, will be released on Oct. 6. Endit