FAO: The Global Food Price Index Rose in March For The Tenth Month in a Row

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) stated that global food prices rose for the tenth consecutive month in March, reaching their highest levels since June 2014, led by jumps in the prices of vegetable oils, meat and dairy products.

The FAO Food Price Index, which measures monthly changes for a basket of grains, vegetable oils, dairy products, meat, and sugar, averaged 118.5 points last month, compared to a slightly revised reading of 116.1 in February. The previous reading for February was 116.0 points.

The Rome-based FAO said in a statement that global cereal crops are still on their way to setting a record annual level in 2020, adding that initial indications are of a new increase in production this year.

The FAO raised its forecast for the 2020 cereal season to 2.765 billion tons from a previous estimate of 2.761 billion tons, indicating a 2% increase year-on-year.