The climate put pressure on international food prices

The prices of food products in the world increased again in September, for the first time in 18 months, driven in particular by sugar and in general by most materialsaccording to a monthly FAO report published on Friday.

After several months of stabilization, the price index calculated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which follows the variation in international prices of a basket of basic products, grew by 3% between August and September, and 2.1% in one year.

In particular, The price of sugar rose 10.4% in September, due to the prospects for sugar cane in Brazil, a country affected by drought and fires. In addition, India’s decision to lift restrictions on the use of sugar cane to produce ethanol also raises fears that there will be less availability for export, adds the FAO.

The vegetable oil index has increased 4.6% since August, whether palm oil – whose production fell more than expected in the large producing countries of Southeast Asia -, soybean, sunflower or rapeseed oil .

Cereals, for their part, had a rise of 3% in one month, due to the increase in export prices of wheat and corn, due to the impact of the rains on wheat crops in Canada and the European Union and the difficulties of river transportation for corn in Brazil and the United States.

He rice, On the contrary, it has a more “generally calm” context, notes the FAO, which indicates a drop in its prices of 0.7%.

For 2024, the FAO decided to “slightly” increase its cereal production forecasts, to 2,853 million tons, somewhat below the 2023 record.

Global wheat production is expected to grow by 0.5% this year compared to 2023, thanks to good yields in Australia, which offset poor European harvests. Rice production, for its part, will reach a “historic maximum”, thanks above all to India, estimates the FAO.

The dairy price index increased by 3.8% in September, while the meat price index remained relatively stable at +0.4%.