Food prices keep on rising

Food prices around the world surged to a new historic peak in January, for the seventh consecutive month, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported on February 3 and prices are not likely to decline in the months ahead.

FAO said the latest Food Price Index, a commodity basket that tracks monthly changes in global food prices, averaged 231 points in January and was up 3.4 per cent from December last year - the highest level since the agency started measuring food prices in 1990.

Prices of all monitored commodity groups increased in January, except the cost of meat, which remained unchanged.

The international prices of wheat have risen 4 per cent in January compared to December. The increase follows stronger export demand during the last month and concerns of tightening supplies of high quality wheat. The market also was supported by higher oil prices and a weaker U.S. dollar.

The benchmark U.S. wheat price in January averaged $340 per tonne, 59 per cent higher than a year earlier but still 29 per cent below its peak in March 2008.