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The
Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) price index, which
tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 127.2
points last month against 126.5 for March, the agency said on
Friday. The March reading was originally given as 126.9.
The Rome-based agency said the April rise reflected higher
prices for sugar, meat and rice, which offset declines in the
cereals, dairy and vegetable oil price indices.
"As economies recover from significant slowdowns, demand will
increase, exerting upward pressure on food prices," said FAO
Chief Economist Maximo Torero.
The sugar price index surged 17.6% from March, hitting its
highest level since October 2011. FAO said the rise was linked
to concerns of tighter supplies following downward revisions to
production forecasts for India and China, along with
lower-than-earlier-expected outputs in Thailand and the European
Union.
While the meat index rose 1.3% month-on-month, dairy prices
dipped 1.7%, vegetable oil prices fell 1.3% and the cereal price
index shed 1.7%, with a decline in world prices of all major
grains outweighing an increase in rice prices.
"The increase in rice prices is extremely worrisome and it is
essential that the Black Sea initiative is renewed to avoid any
other spikes in wheat and maize," said Torero, referring to a
deal to allow the export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea.
In a separate report on cereals supply and demand, the FAO
forecast world wheat production in 2023 of 785 million tonnes,
slightly below 2022 levels but nonetheless the second largest
outturn on record.
"(The) 2023/24 prospects for rice production along and south of
the equator are mixed, largely due to the regionally varied
impact of the La Niña event," FAO said.
FAO raised its forecast for world cereal production in 2022 to
2.785 billion tonnes from a previous 2.777 billion, just 1.0%
down from the previous year.
World cereal utilisation in the 2022/23 period was seen at 2.780
billion tonnes, FAO said, down 0.7% from 2021/22. World cereal
stocks by the close of the 2022/2023 seasons are expected to
ease by 0.2% from their opening levels to 855 million tonnes.
(Editing by Crispian Balmer)
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