According to The Globe and Mail, the U.N Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a Rome-based arm of the United Nations, recently reported that its food price index climbed to its highest point since the organization first began collecting data in 1990. According to a recent Reuters story, the FAO Price Index, which measures the monthly prices of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar, hit 214.7 points last month, up from 206 in November.
The high prices have sparked fears about a potential repeat of the food price-related riots that occurred in developing countries in 2008. There’s also speculation that flooding in Australia may increase prices further.
“Recent flooding in Australia’s northeast has added to supply concerns in a number of farm commodities, which began to emerge last summer with weather problems in key producing areas,” such as Russia and Canada,” said Kenrick Jordan of BMO Nesbitt Burns, as reported by The Globe.” The price spike has raised fresh concerns about food price inflation.”
