The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations revealed that global food prices rose for the fourth consecutive month in September, driven by strong increases in the prices of grains and vegetable oils.
The FAO Food Price Index, which measures monthly changes for a basket of grains, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar, scored 97.9 points last month, compared to the revised level, down to 95.9 points in August (96.1 points before the adjustment).
According to the organization, cereal crops around the world remain on track to achieve a record annual rate in 2020, although it was slightly revised to previous forecasts. In September, the FAO cereal price index increased 5.1 percent month-on-month and 13.6 percent year-on-year. Average sugar prices fell 2.6 percent compared to August, reflecting expectations of a global production surplus for the 2020-2021 season.
"FAO" revised its forecast for the grain season to be cut this year by 2.5 million tons, reflecting lower expectations on global production of coarse grains. But despite this reduction, the organization still expects a record harvest this year of 2.762 billion tons, up 2.1% year-on-year.
Source (Reuters, Edited)
