United Nations: World food prices on the rise

World food prices rose slightly in April, up for the third month in a row but they remained almost 10% lower than a year earlier, the United Nations food agency said yesterday.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation’s — FAO — food price index, which measures monthly changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar, averaged 151.8 points, up 0.7% from March.

The index has declined annually for four straight years to near seven-year lows amid slowing global growth, but ticked up in April as gains in vegetable oils and cereals offset declines in dairy and sugar.