March 2021 saw global food commodity prices rise for the 10th consecutive month. The FAO Food Price index, which monitors monthly changes in the global prices of commonly-traded food commodities, averaged 118.5 points in March, 2.1 percent higher than in February and at its highest level since June 2014. Photo Credit: Freepik / Illustrative Photo.
Czech Rep., Apr 13 (BD) – March 2021 saw global food commodity prices rise for the 10th month in a row. According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the price increase index has reached its highest level since June 2014, especially for vegetable oils, meat, and dairy products.
The FAO Food Price index, which monitors monthly changes in the global prices of commonly-traded food commodities, averaged 118.5 points in March, 2.1 percent higher than February and its highest level since June 2014. The March increase was mostly due to a rise in the price of oils, which rose 8.0% from the previous month to a nearly 10-year high, with soy oil prices rising due to higher prices of palm, soybean, rapeseed, and sunflower.
The FAO Dairy Price Index increased 3.9%, and the Meat Price Index also rose by 2.3% from February, with imports to China and a surge in internal sales in Europe before Easter underpinning increasing poultry and pork prices. The partial index of vegetable oil prices rose by 8% month-on-month and reached its highest level since June 2011. By contrast, the FAO Cereal Price Index dropped by 1.8%, but is still 26.5% higher than in March 2020. Wheat export prices declined the most, reflecting healthy supplies and favourable production prospects for 2021. FAO foresees an increase in world cereal production in 2021 for the third year in a row. Global wheat production is expected to reach 785 million tonnes in 2021, up 1.4% from 2020, driven by a possible sharp rebound across most of Europe and expectations of a record harvest in India.
