The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations revealed that world food prices rose last August for the third month in a row, led by coarse grains, vegetable oils and sugar.
The FAO Food Price Index, which measures monthly changes for a basket of grains, vegetable oils, dairy products, meat and sugar, averaged 96.1 points last month, compared to 94.3 in July.
According to the organization, global cereal crops are still heading towards a record annual level in 2020, as the organization's cereal price index rose 1.9 percent in August from the previous month, and 7 percent above its value a year ago, as the prices of sorghum, barley and rice were recorded the highest level. Corn has also rallied strongly, driven by concerns about US production after recent crop failures in Iowa province.
The vegetable oil price index rose by 5.9 percent on a monthly basis, returning to hover around the levels recorded when the Coronavirus crisis swept the world at the beginning of the year. Palm oil was supported by an expected slowdown in production in the major producing countries, which, together with strong global import demand, is expected to result in lower levels of stocks.
Average sugar prices rose by 6.7 percent, reflecting expectations of reduced production due to bad weather in the European Union and Thailand. Strong import demand in China also helped increasing the prices.
Source (Asharq Al-Awsat Newspaper, Edited)
