Global Food Prices Rise At Rapid Pace: World Agriculture Body

A surge i international prices of vegetable oils, sugar and cereals led the increase in the index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly-traded food commodities.

Global food prices rose in May at their fastest monthly rate in more than a decade even as world cereal production is on course to reach a new record high, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations reported on Thursday. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 127.1 points in May, 4.8 per cent higher than in April and 39.7 per cent higher than in May 2020. A surge in the international prices of vegetable oils, sugar and cereals led the increase in the index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly-traded food commodities, to its highest value since September 2011 and only 7.6 per cent below its all-time peak in nominal terms. The FAO Cereal Price Index increased 6 per cent from April led by international maize prices which averaged 89.9 per cent above their year-earlier value. However, maize prices started to retreat at the end of May on improved production prospects in the United States.