Global food prices rise to highest levels in a yr: UN
   Date :11-May-2019

 
GLOBAL food prices climbed in April to their highest level in almost 12 months and were driven up by the cost of meat and dairy items, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Food Price Index issued on Thursday.
 
The increase spanned all the covered food commodities except cereals, whose prices fell for the fourth month in a row amid large export availability and expectations for record global output in the coming year, said FAO.
 
The Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly-traded food commodities, averaged 170 points in April, up 1.5 per cent from March while still 2.3 per cent below its level one year ago. The FAO Cereal Price Index dipped 2.8 per cent, led by wheat and maize - for which the production outlooks are positive - while rice quotations were broadly stable, according to FAO.
 
By contrast, the FAO Dairy Price Index rose 5.2 per cent from March, its fourth consecutive monthly increase, amid robust global import demand combined with supply concerns linked to dry weather in Oceania.
 
The FAO Meat Price Index increased by 3.0 per cent, led by a sharp jump in international price quotations of pig meat due to a surge in import demand in Asia - primarily in China, where the rapid spread of African Swine Fever has triggered a sharp fall in domestic production. Bovine, poultry and ovine meat prices all firmed from March, FAO said.
The FAO Vegetable Oil Index also rose, by 0.9 per cent.
 
Palm oil quotations rebounded somewhat due to rising global demand and inventory drawdowns in the major exporting countries, while soy oil prices notched up due primarily to robust domestic demand in the United States from both the biodiesel and food sectors.