FAO: World food prices have broken a 10-year high

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), world food prices have peaked since July 2011. Vegetable oil, cereals and dairy products have risen the most. The sugar price index went down for the first time in six months.

The organization's report notes that in October, world food prices increased by 3%. The average value of the FAO food price index, which allows tracking fluctuations in world prices for the most marketable food products, has grown to 133.2 points. And this is 3.9% higher than in September. It is worth noting that the indicator has been growing for three months in a row.

The vegetable oil price index jumped by 9.6% to 184.8 points in October, reaching a historic high. Such an increase is primarily due to the rise in price of palm, soybean, sunflower and rapeseed oil. Palm oil is getting more expensive amid concerns about low production volumes in Malaysia, where there is a shortage of migrant workers.

The price index for dairy products rose by 2.6% to 120.7 points. This was most strongly reflected in butter, as well as in skimmed and whole milk powder. At the same time, cheese prices remained stable due to the sufficient volume of supply from the main producing countries. 

The average meat price index has been declining for the third month in a row. In October, this indicator decreased by 0.7%. Analysts note that world quotations for pork fell amid a reduction in purchases from China, and beef – due to a sharp decline in the cost of meat supplied from Brazil. At the same time, the price of poultry and mutton, on the contrary, has increased.