Food prices reached highest level in February, says FAO

The United Nations for Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has said world food prices reached their highest level since February 2015 with cereals recording the highest value in almost two years.
FAO Director General

Food Price Index released by FAO in February averaged 175.5 points, 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.

Rising prices of wheat, maize and rice pushed the FAO Cereal Price Index to 2.5 percent above the figure for January while the FAO Meat Price Index rose by 1.1 percent as a result of higher bovine meat prices by ranchers in Australia who rebuilt their herds.

Consequently, the Dairy Price Index rose slightly, led by butter and whole milk powder. “The FAO Sugar Price Index rose 0.6 percent in February, as ongoing supply tightness in Brazil was only partly offset by expanded beet plantings in the European Union,” the report said.

But the FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index moved in the opposite direction. The price index decreased by 4.1 percent due to a slow down in global import demand for palm oil, along with higher soy crop forecasts for Brazil and Argentina, two leading exporting countries.


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