The latest update from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reveals that global food prices increased by 1.6% in February. This surge was primarily attributed to sugar, vegetable oils, and dairy products.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released its current report on food prices.

According to the FAO, global food prices rose by 1.6% in February compared to the previous month, driven by increases in sugar, vegetable oils, and dairy products. The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in international food prices, rose by 1.6% in February compared to January, reaching an average of 127.1 points. The rate of increase compared to February of last year was 8.2%. The global food price surge was noticeable due to increases in dairy products, sugar, and vegetable oils. The Cereal Price Index increased by 0.7% monthly due to rising wheat and maize prices, but showed a 1.1% decrease annually. This increase was influenced by wheat price rises driven by concerns about supply constraints in Russia and crop conditions in Eastern Europe and North America.

World corn prices continued to rise due to tight supply in Brazil and strong export demand from the United States, while global rice prices fell by 6.8% in February.

VEGETABLE OILS SEE A 2% INCREASE

The Vegetable Oil Price Index saw a 2% monthly increase in palm, soybean, and sunflower oil prices due to palm oil, seasonal supply constraints in Southeast Asia, and strong demand from the biodiesel sector. The annual increase in the index was 29.1%. The Sugar Price Index fell by 6.6% compared to the previous month due to adverse production expectations in major exporters like India and Brazil. The Dairy Price Index rose by 4% with strong global demand support, while there was a 0.1% decrease in the Meat Price Index. The FAO also published the Grain Supply and Demand Summary Report, which includes evaluations and forecasts on global production, consumption, trade, and stock trends. The organization raised its global grain production forecast for 2024-2025 from 2.84 billion tons to 2.8418 billion tons. The global wheat production estimate was also increased from 788.6 million tons to 792.2 million tons in the report.