The global Food Price Index is down for the sixth month in a row, says the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. Sugar and dairy prices dropped by the largest amounts, followed by grains and oils. Meat prices are at a record high, but could be stabilizing, said FAO. The index was at its lowest reading since August 2010.
Meat prices are nearly 12 percent higher than a year ago, said FAO. Beef prices remained strong, poultry prices were stable and sheep dropped somewhat. “As for pigmeat, prices have weakened for each of the past three months, reflecting a recovery of production in several important producing and exporting countries, following outbreaks of porcine endemic diarrhoea,” said FAO, as well as Russia’s ban on imports from several nations.
FAO also launched a program to assist 90,000 households in west Africa whose food supplies and livelihoods are threatened by the outbreak of ebola. The agency said it seeks $30 million for they year-long initiative to boost income and food production while stopping the spread of the disease. In a rural county in Liberia, food prices increased from 30-75 percent in one month. Ebola also has struck Guinea and Sierra Leone.
The biannual Food Outlook report from FAO said bumper harvests and large stockpiles are driving down grain prices. The wheat crop is a record and feed grains a near-record.