World food prices hit 10-yr peak: FAO

PARIS, Oct 07 (Reuters): World food prices rose for a second consecutive month in September to reach a 10-year peak, driven by gains for cereals and vegetable oils, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday.

The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) also projected record global cereal production in 2021, but said this would be outpaced by forecast consumption.

FAO's food price index, which tracks international prices of the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 130.0 points last month, the highest reading since September 2011, according to the agency's data.

The figure compared with a revised 128.5 for August. The August figure was previously given as 127.4. On a year-on-year basis, prices were up 32.8 per cent in September. Agricultural commodity prices have risen steeply in the past year, fuelled by harvest setbacks and Chinese demand.

The FAO's cereal price index rose by 2.0 per cent in September from the previous month. That was led by a near 4 per cent increase for wheat prices, with the UN agency citing tightening export availabilities amid strong demand.

"Among major cereals, wheat will be the focus in the coming weeks as demand need to be tested against fast rising prices," FAO Senior Economist Abdolreza Abbassian said in a statement.