New record for the food price index of the FAO. Each month the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) measures changes in prices of a basket of 55 products including cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar …
For the month of December, this index performed worldwide stood at 214.7 points, up 4.22%. It is now above its previous record of 213.5 points in June 2008, the year of riots in several developing countries. "Prices were boosted by higher prices for sugar, cereals and oilseeds," said Abdolreza Abbassian, economist at FAO.
In detail, the biggest increase oilseeds, especially palm oil and rapeseed. Their index has climbed 7.5% to 263.0 points last month. The sugar price index soared more than 6%.An increase in the same order as that which affected the grain. Their index rose 237.6 points, its highest level since August 2008.
Buyers in Asia
But what most worries the FAO, is the duration of the phenomenon. "This is the sixth consecutive month that increases our index, notes Abdolreza Abbassian. However, unlike 2008, oil prices are much lower and crops have been sufficient in many countries, such as Central Africa and East, "added the economist. In Tanzania, for example, maize production is largely self-sufficient. In Niger, the country posting the best grain harvest last twenty years.
However, if this phenomenon continues in the next two to three months ahead, it could have inflationary effects and create tensions among people in poor countries. And nothing suggests the next stop of this upward spiral.Demand continues to grow. Despite the 245 euros per tonne of wheat today, there are still buyers in Asia, the Middle East or North Africa. While the offer on cereals is particularly tense. "There are six times more climate events than fifty years ago," says Michel Portier, director of consulting firm specializing Agritel. Floods in Australia, the drought in Argentina and the heatwave in Russia testify. "This creates an extreme market stress," says Olivier Duval, agricultural supply and demand. Contrary to what one might think, farmers, especially farmers, are not at the party. The president of the FNSEA, Xavier Beulin, expects a first half of 2011 "very difficult" because of price volatility.