World food prices climb to new peak in October

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Rising for a third consecutive month, world food prices rose to a new all-time high in October, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Thursday.

The FAO food price index rose by 3% from a month ago, hitting its highest level for over a decade at 133.2 points in October, the UN body said, citing a surge in prices of vegetable oils and cereals.

The FAO food price index is a trade-weighted index that tracks international market prices of five major food commodity groups.

The cereal price index climbed by 3.2% on a monthly basis with world wheat prices rising by 5% amid tightening global availabilities due to reduced harvests in major exporters.

The FAO vegetable oil price index went up by 9.6% month-on-month in October, hitting an all-time high, driven by firmer price quotations for palm, soy, sunflower, and rapeseed oils.

The dairy price index rose by 2.2% from September, stemming from firmer global import demand for butter, skim milk powder, and whole milk powder.

The sub-indices for sugar and meat were down by 1.8% and 0.7%, respectively, in the month.