Era of falling food prices ends as population soars

The era of falling food prices has come to an end with the world’s population set to rise by 2bn people, according to US farm commodities trader, Cargill Inc.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation has said global food output must rise 70% by 2050 to feed a global population expected to grow from 7bn to 9bn, and as increasingly wealthy consumers in developing economies eat more meat.

Food prices tracked by the FAO climbed to the highest ever a year ago on surging grain prices.