World meals costs rose in May at their quickest month-to-month fee in greater than a decade, posting a twelfth consecutive month-to-month enhance to hit their highest degree since September 2011, the United Nations meals company mentioned on Thursday.
FAO additionally issued its first forecast for world cereal manufacturing in 2021, predicting output of practically 2.821 billion tonnes — a brand new document and 1.9% up on 2020 ranges.
The Food and Agriculture Organization’s meals value index, which measures month-to-month adjustments for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy merchandise, meat and sugar, averaged 127.1 factors final month versus a revised 121.3 in April.
The April determine was beforehand given as 120.9.
On a year-on-year foundation, costs had been up 39.7% in May.
FAO’s cereal value index rose 6.0% in May month-on-month and 36.6% year-on-year. Maize costs led the surge and at the moment are 89.9% above their year-earlier worth, nevertheless FAO mentioned they fell again on the finish of the month, lifted by an improved manufacturing outlook in the United States.
The vegetable oil value index jumped 7.8% in May, lifted primarily by rising palm, soy and rapeseed oil quotations. Palm oil costs had been boosted by gradual manufacturing progress in southeast Asia, whereas prospects of sturdy international demand, particularly from the biodiesel sector, drove up soyoil costs.
The sugar index posted a 6.8% month-on-month acquire, due largely to harvest delays and issues over diminished crop yields in Brazil, the world’s largest sugar exporter, FAO mentioned.
The meat index rose 2.2% from April, with quotations for all meat varieties buoyed by a quicker tempo of import purchases by east Asian nations, primarily China.
Dairy costs rose 1.8% on a month-to-month foundation and had been up 28% on a yr earlier. The enhance was led by “stable import demand” for skim and whole milk powders, while butter prices fell for the first time in almost a year on increased export supplies from New Zealand.
FAO said its forecast for record world cereal production this year was underpinned by a projected 3.7% annual growth in maize output. Global wheat production was seen rising 1.4% year-on-year, while rice production was forecast to grow 1.0%.
World cereal utilization in 2021/22 was seen increasing by 1.7% to a new peak of 2.826 billion tonnes, just above production levels. “Total cereal food consumption is forecast to rise in tandem with world population,” FAO mentioned.
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