Global food prices up for 11th consecutive month: FAO

May 07, 2021: Global food prices in April climbed for the 11th month in a row, driven by strong increases in the prices of sugar, followed by oils, meat, dairy, and cereals, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Thursday.

Averaging 120.9 points last month, the FAO Food Price Index saw a rise of 1.7% or 2 points from a month earlier.

The FAO Food Price Index is a trade-weighted index that tracks the international market prices of five major food commodity groups.

The figure was also up as much as 28.4 points – 30.8% – from the same period last year.

The sugar price index posted the highest rise among all the sub-indices with 3.9% month-on-month in April, due to strong buying amid heightened concerns over tighter global supplies in the 2020/21 season.

The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index climbed 1.8% in the month, driven by rising soy, rapeseed, and palm oil quotations, which offset lower sunflower oil values.

The meat price index went up 1.7% from March, marking a seventh consecutive monthly increase.

The diary and cereal price indices both climbed 1.2% last month.

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