Global food prices highest in two years: FAO

September 01, 2010 09:03 pm | Updated December 04, 2021 11:44 pm IST - New Delhi

There was a “sudden sharp rise” in international wheat prices because of the drought in Russia and the country’s subsequent restrictions on wheat sales. File photo

There was a “sudden sharp rise” in international wheat prices because of the drought in Russia and the country’s subsequent restrictions on wheat sales. File photo

Global food prices rose to their highest level in two years due to a sharp rise in wheat prices, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Wednesday.

The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) averaged 176 points in August, up nearly nine points from July, the UN body said in a statement released from its headquarters in Rome.

“The increase — five per cent — brought the index up to its highest level since September 2008, but still 38 per cent down from its peak in June, 2008,” it added.

FAO said the “sudden sharp rise” in international wheat prices was because of the drought in Russia and the country’s subsequent restrictions on wheat sales. This apart, other drivers which fuelled the price rise are higher sugar and oilseed prices.

Meanwhile, the UN body recently lowered its global wheat production forecast to 646 million tonnes.

“The latest revision reflects a further cut in the estimate of this year’s harvest in the Russian Federation to 43 million tonnes (from 48 million tonnes in August), more than offsetting higher forecasts for crops in a number of other countries, including the United States and China,” it said.

The forecast for world wheat stocks, ending 2011, was also lowered to 181 million tonnes, down nine per cent from their eight year high opening level.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.