Prices of agricultural commodities have increased sharply in the past year. (Represent)
Roman:
World food prices rose for a fourth straight month in November to stay at a 10-year high, led by strong demand for wheat and dairy products, the United Nations food agency said. country said on Thursday.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Food Price Index, which tracks international prices of the most traded food commodities globally, averaged 134.4 points last month from 132.8. revised in October.
The October figure was previously given as 133.2.
The November index was the index’s highest level since June 2011. Year-on-year, the index was up 27.3% last month.
Agricultural commodity prices have surged over the past year, driven by failed harvests and strong demand.
The FAO Cereal Price Index in November was up 3.1% month-on-month and 23.2% higher than a year earlier, with wheat prices hitting their highest since May 2011.
The FAO said wheat prices were supported by concerns about unseasonal rains in Australia and uncertainty about possible changes to export measures in Russia.
The milk price index had the largest monthly increase, up 3.4% month-on-month. “Strong global import demand continues for butter and milk powder as buyers seek to secure immediate supply in the face of tight market conditions,” the FAO said.
Global sugar prices rose 1.4% on the month and nearly 40% year-on-year. The increase was mainly due to higher ethanol prices, the FAO said.
The Meat Price Index published for the fourth consecutive month fell, down 0.9% on the month, while world vegetable oil prices fell 0.3% from October levels, but international palm oil prices remained stable. FAO said.
Rome-based FAO has cut its forecast for global cereal production in 2021 to 2.791 billion tonnes from 2.793 billion tonnes estimated a month ago, according to their grain supply and demand outlook.
However, world cereal production is still expected to reach record levels, the FAO said.
“The monthly decline is mainly the result of a slightly smaller global forecast for coarse grains, which reflects a projected decline in barley and sorghum production,” the FAO said. know.
World cereal use in 2021/22 is forecast to increase by 1.7% from 2020/21 to reach 2.810 billion tonnes. FAO’s forecast for world cereal stocks at the end of the 2022 season stands at 822 million tons, up 2.9 million tons since November but still down 0.7% from opening levels.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)
