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World food prices edge higher in Feb.: FAO

Xinhua, March 3, 2017 Adjust font size:

The Food Price Index rose slightly in February, marking its seventh consecutive monthly rise, according to data released by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Thursday.

The FAO Food Price Index averaged 175.5 points in February, its highest value in almost two years, marking a 0.5 percent increase from its revised January value and 17.2 percent above its February 2016 level.

Cereal price rose 2.5 percent from January, because of increasing prices for wheat, even as maize and rice prices also posted modest increases.

Meat price also went up, rising 1.1 percent, buoyed by higher bovine meat prices as ranchers in Australia rebuilt their herds.

Sugar price rose 0.6 percent in February, as ongoing supply tightness in Brazil was only partly offset by expanded beet plantings in the European Union.

And dairy price saw a slight increase led by butter and whole milk powder.

Vegetable oil price bucked the trend, declining 4.1 percent amid slowing global import demand for palm oil along with higher soy crop forecasts for Brazil and Argentina, two important exporting countries.

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 April 6. Endit