Global food prices surge to 18-month high, says FAO

Global food prices rose in October to their highest level in 18 months, with a sharp increase in the cost of vegetable oil, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) an agency of the United Nations disclosed on Friday.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in international prices of a basket of food commodities, reached 127.4 points last month, a two-percent increase from September.

This represents the highest since April 2023 but still 20.5 per cent lower than the peak reached in March 2022 following Russia’s invasion of agricultural powerhouse Ukraine.

Vegetable oil prices increased by 7.3 per cent in October, reaching a two-year high due to lower production.

READ ALSO: New report shows 33m Nigerians face food crisis in 2025

Sugar prices rose 2.6 per cent, dairy was up 2.5 per cent and cereals gained 0.8 per cent.

Meat was the only commodity to fall, down 0.3 percent from the previous month.

According to FAO’s new Cereal Supply and Demand Brief, also released Friday, global cereal production in 2024 is forecast to decline by around 0.4 percent from the previous year to 2 848 million tonnes, the second-largest output on record.

World wheat production is expected to increase, buoyed by production upturns in Asia as a result of area expansions and conducive weather conditions, which more than offset large declines among key producers in Europe. Global coarse grain production is forecast to decline from its 2023 record level, mostly due to a sizeable crop in maize output because of adverse weather conditions. Meanwhile, world rice output in the 2024/25 season could reach a record high of 538.9 million tonnes, boosted by record-breaking plantings.

By: Babajide Okeowo

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