Food prices across the world hit 18-year highs in October last year. The price of edible oil increased the most during this period. The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations reported the information yesterday Friday. The report was published on the FAO website.
The food price index released by the FAO—which monitors monthly changes in the international prices of commercial food products worldwide—reached 127.4 points in October, up 2 percent from the previous month, September, and 5.5 percent from a year earlier. However, it is still 20 and a half percent less than March 2022.
Meanwhile, FAO's vegetable oil index rose 7.3 percent in October, the highest in two years. This was mainly due to the rise in prices of palm, soybean, sunflower and rapeseed oil.
FAO's price of 'cereal' or packaged food for children increased by 9.9 percent in October. This is mainly due to increase in the export price of wheat and maize. Exporters in Russia, the world's top exporter, have been hit by unfavorable weather conditions and regional tensions in the Black Sea, which have boosted global wheat prices.
Meanwhile, lower river water levels in Brazil have boosted domestic demand as a result of transportation problems, which have pushed up corn prices on the global market. In contrast, the FAO price of all types of rice decreased by 5.6 percent in October. The lifting of India's rice export ban has had a positive impact.
FAO's sugar index increased by 2.6 percent. This comes as prolonged drought in Brazil threatens to negatively impact sugarcane yields in the 2024-25 season. The rise in international crude oil prices has also pushed a portion of sugarcane into ethanol production, thereby increasing sugar prices as production is relatively low. However, this growth rate is somewhat limited due to the weakness of the Brazilian real against the US dollar.
The Food and Agriculture Organization's index of dairy products rose 1.9 percent in October, up 21.4 percent on average from the same period last year. Mainly due to increase in prices of cheese and butter in the international market, although the index of milk powder has decreased.
Contrary to the general upward trend, the FAO index for meat prices fell by 10.3 percent compared to September. Global chicken prices fell slightly in October, but lamb prices remained stable. On the contrary, the price of beef has increased slightly.
