The Food Price Index reached an all-time high in March largely due to export disruptions from Ukraine and Russia, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in an update on Friday
UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th April, 2022) The food Price Index reached an all-time high in March largely due to export disruptions from Ukraine and Russia, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in an update on Friday.
"The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) averaged 159.3 points in March 2022, up 17.9 points (12.6 percent) from February, making a giant leap to a new highest level since its inception in 1990," the update said. "This month's increase reflected a surge in world prices of wheat and coarse grains, largely driven by conflict-related export disruptions from Ukraine and, to a lesser extent, the Russian Federation."
Concerns over crop conditions in the United States also contributed to a sharp rise in wheat prices in March, the update showed.
The sharpest rise was in the price of vegetable oils, which increased by more than 23% from February to March, also due largely to the situation in Ukraine. Russia combined with Ukraine accounts for almost 70% of sunflower-seed and safflower oil production, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, the update also showed.
The price of sugar is up more than 20% from March of 2021 due mainly to an increase in international crude oil prices, which raised expectations of greater sugarcane use for ethanol production in Brazil, according to the update.
