Global food prices rose for the fourth month in a row in November

Global food prices rose for the fourth month in a row in November, with their index rising to a ten-year high. The rise in prices of November was mainly due to rising prices of cereals and dairy products. The aggregate index, which monitors the prices of cereals, vegetable oils, dairy products, meat and sugar on international markets, rose by 1.2 percent month on month to 134.4 points in November. It was thus at the highest level since June 2011. Compared to last November, the index shows an increase of 27.3 percent. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said this in a report on Thursday. The sub-index of cereal prices rose by 3.1 percent month on month in November. The continuing rise in the price of wheat, driven by strong demand and limited supply, has largely contributed to this. Wheat has been rising in price for five months in a row and its prices are now at their highest level since May 2011, according to the FAO. According to the organization, this is probably due to the reduced quality of the harvest in Australia and the uncertainty regarding wheat exports from Russia. The world's largest exporter of wheat is considering imposing higher taxes on its exporters. In November, world corn prices also rose slightly, while rice prices remained broadly unchanged. The FAO also recorded a significant rise in prices for dairy products, which rose by 3.4 percent last month compared to October and by almost a fifth year on year. Due to reduced deliveries from major exporters from Western Europe, butter and milk powder have risen sharply for three months in a row. Cheese prices are rising only slightly. Sugar prices, which had been falling in the previous month, also showed a month-on-month increase in November. The sub-index for sugar is almost 40 percent higher than in November 2020. However, other statistics show that the prices of vegetable oils and meat have fallen slightly. The meat has been cheaper for four months in a row, according to the FAO.