São Paulo – The food prices measured monthly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) went up in October in comparison to September after consecutive months of decline. According to the FAO’s Food Price Index released this Thursday (5th) in Rome, the index reached 162 points in October, a hike of 3.9% over September. In comparison to October of last year, prices dropped 16%.
According to FAO, this October hike is due to bad weather, which can result in weaker-than-anticipated crops. It’s the case, for instance, of the price of sugar. Rainfall in excess in Brazil can impact the next crop. Thus, the index that measures the price of sugar went up 17.2% over September. Bad climate conditions also impacted maize crop forecast in Ukraine and Russia and the rice crop in Thailand.
Worries over the climate phenomenon El Niño raised the prices of vegetable oils in 6.2% over September. The price of dairies went up 9.4% with forecasts pointing to weaker production in New Zealand.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
