The UN’s benchmark nutrient and commodity prices scale roseate sharply connected mean done 2021, compared with the erstwhile year, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) informed on Thursday. 

The agency’s Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes successful planetary prices, averaged 125.7 points - a 28.1 per cent summation implicit 2020. 

FAO Senior Economist Abdolreza Abbassian explained that, normally, precocious prices are expected to easiness arsenic accumulation increases to lucifer demand.  

This time, however, the consistently precocious outgo of inputs, the ongoing planetary pandemic and ever much volatile climatic conditions “leave little country for optimism astir a instrumentality to much unchangeable marketplace conditions adjacent successful 2022.” 

Year’s end 

At the extremity of the year, satellite nutrient prices fell slightly, arsenic planetary prices for rootlike oils and sweetener fell significantly, the information shows. 

The Food Price Index averaged 133.7 points, a 0.9 per cent diminution from November, but was inactive up 23.1 per cent from the aforesaid period the twelvemonth before. Only dairy posted a emergence that month.  

The Cereal Price Index besides decreased 0.6 per cent; for the afloat year, however, it reached its highest yearly level since 2012, rising 27.2 per cent. 

Biggest gainers were maize, up 44.1 per cent, and wheat, gaining 31.3 per cent. One of the world’s different cardinal staple foods, rice, mislaid 4 per cent. 

Oil and sugar 

The Vegetable Oil Price Index declined 3.3 percent successful December, owed to little planetary import demand, that whitethorn beryllium linked to concerns implicit the interaction of rising COVID-19 cases, which person led to delays successful the proviso chain. 

For the twelvemonth arsenic a whole, the Oil Index reached an all-time high, expanding 65.8 per cent compared with 2020. 

Another cardinal staple, sugar, dropped by 3.1 per cent past period from November, reaching a five-month low. 

FAO analysts said this shows concerns implicit the interaction of the Omicron variant connected planetary request arsenic good arsenic a weaker Brazilian Real, combined with little ethanol prices. 

For the twelvemonth arsenic a whole, the Sugar Price Index roseate 29.8 per cent, reaching its highest level since 2016. 

Meat and dairy 

The Meat Price Index was “broadly stable” successful December, but roseate 12.7 per cent done the twelvemonth arsenic a whole. 

Dairy was the lone class wherever prices accrued successful the past period of the year, rising 1.8 per cent connected November, mostly due to the fact that of little beverage accumulation successful Western Europe and Oceania. 

Cheese prices declined marginally past month, but for the twelvemonth overall, the Dairy Price Index averaged 16.9 per cent higher than 2020.