World food prices rise to 10-year peak: UN agencyReuters, PARISWorld food prices rose for a second consecutive month last month to reach a 10-year peak, driven by gains for cereals and vegetable oils, the UN food agency said yesterday. The agency’s food price index, which tracks prices of the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 130 points last month, the highest reading since September 2011, FAO data showed. That was led by a near 4 percent increase in wheat prices, attributed by the agency to tightening export availabilities amid strong demand. Vegetable oil prices were up 1.7 percent month-on-month, or about 60 percent year-on-year, as palm oil prices climbed on robust import demand and concerns over labor shortages in Malaysia, the agency said. For cereal production, it projected a record world crop of 2.8 billion tonnes this year, up slightly from 2.788 billion tonnes estimated a month ago.

Source: Taipei Times October 07, 2021 15:56 UTC