U.N Report Shows Increase In World Food Prices In January

The United Nations food agency has today reported that World food prices rose in January, and there was a rebound in dairy prices and stronger showings for vegetable oils and sugar

The Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) food price index, which measures monthly changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat, and sugar, recorded average points of 164.8 points last month against 161.8 in December.

However, the increase in years January is still 2.2 percent lower than that of January 2018.

FAO further explained that the limited export supplies from Europe, which was as a result of strong internal demand, was the main driving force behind the increase.

FAO’s vegetable oil price index rose 4.3 percent from the previous month, while its sugar index rose 1.3 percent and its cereal index made marginal gains in December.

The meat price index was largely unchanged.

FAO lifted its latest world cereal production forecast for 2018 to 2.611 billion tonnes, slightly higher than the December reading, reflecting upward revisions for maize, wheat, and rice.

“Much of the projected growth is associated with expected increases in Europe, where beneficial weather has so far shored up yield prospects while also sowings are forecast to expand, largely driven by attractive prices,” FAO said.