World food prices rose 3.9 percent in October, said the FAO, reporting “the sharpest increase since July 2012” in its Food Price Index. From March 2014, prices have trended steadily downward, bottoming in August and rising fractionally in September. Despite the fall increases, “food on international markets was still 16 percent cheaper than one year ago,” said the Rome-based FAO.
Sugar, vegetable oils, dairy products and cereal grains – four of the five commodity groups in the FAO index – rose during October and meat prices were stable. Sugar prices soared 17 percent due to a late harvest caused by rain in Brazil, the world’s largest producer, and crop-damaging dry weather in India, Thailand, the Philippines, South Africa and Vietnam. Dairy prices climbed 9 percent because of a possible drop in production in New Zealand, while higher higher palm oil prices were the primary factor in a 6-percent rise in the vegetable oil index.