Global food prices rise

Global food prices sharply rebounded in July due to wild swings in weather conditions, a UN food and agricultural body has said.

The rise has fanned fresh fears of a repeat of the 2007-2008 food crisis which hurt the world’s poorest.

Untimely rains in Brazil, drought in the US and production difficulties in Russia drove the rally, said the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Food prices jumped 6 percent in July from June after falling three months in a row.

The FAO food price index measures the monthly price changes for a basket of food commodities including cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar. The index reading in July was still well below the all-time high reached in February 2011.

The Rome-based organisation took the surprise step of publishing the index this month — which it usually does not — due to the exceptional market conditions affected by unusual weather patterns.

Cereal prices surged 17 percent, while sugar leapt 12 percent to new highs in July from the previous month after rains hampered sugarcane harvesting in Brazil, the world’s largest producer. —BBC