World food prices surged slightly in September from the month before, driven by higher valuations in the vegetable oil and dairy sectors, the UN food agency said on Thursday.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) food price index, which measures monthly changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar, averaged 178.4 points in September, up 0.8 per cent from August.
Food prices on international markets were 4.3 per cent higher than their values last September.
FAO raised its forecast for global cereals output in the 2017-18 season to 2.612 billion tonnes, slightly above last year’s record harvest.
The agency also raised its forecast for global wheat production to 750.1 million tonnes.
