World Food Prices Rise to Highest Level Since 2011

In its monthly report, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations highlighted that in the tenth month of the year, the index of international prices of a basket of food products registered an average of 133.2 points in October, three percent (3.9 points) more than in September.

This also represents 31.3 percent more than in October 2020, the text indicated and detailed that after a consecutive rise for three months the index climbed to its highest level since July 2011, in the face of a rise in the price of cereals and vegetable oils markets.

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Grains in October averaged 3.2 percent higher than in September and 22.4 percent above the year-ago level, with all major grains up.

Wheat, among them, rose five percent, the highest since November 2012, triggered by lower availability, among other factors, on world markets following reduced harvests in major exporting countries, especially Canada, the United States and Russia.

Meanwhile, vegetable oils also saw their prices rise by 9.6 percent last month, compared to the previous month and the highest level ever, due to the strengthening of palm, soybean, sunflower and rapeseed oil prices.

According to the FAO report, the causes are generally due to the persistent concern about moderate production in Malaysia, given the shortage of migrant labor, together with the reactivation of world demand for imports, particularly from India, and the prolonged shortage of world supply. The dairy product price index also registered a 2.2 percent increase in October, up 2.2 percent from September and 15.5 percent above the level in the same month last year.

The rise occurred in both butter, skim milk powder and whole milk powder in October for the second consecutive month due to firm global import demand.

Meat prices, however, were down 0.7 percent from their revised September value and the third consecutive month of decline, although still 22.1 percent above the value in the same month of 2020.

Meanwhile, the price of sugar fell by 1.8 percent from October to September, considered its first decline after six consecutive months of increases.