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World food prices reach record high
World food prices reached their highest level ever in January according to the UN food agency - as economists warn that chaos in Egypt could push prices up further and foment more unrest in the region.
Rising food prices have been cited among the driving forces behind the recent popular revolts in north Africa, including the uprising in Egypt and the toppling of Tunisia's long-time president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
And in its latest survey, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said its index, which monitors monthly price changes for a variety of staples, averaged 231 points in January – the highest since records began in 1990.
The Index rose by 3.4% from December – with big increases in particular for dairy, cereal and oil prices. The rises were most significant in China, India, Indonesia and Russia, data from FAO's monthly report showed.
Capital Economics, a consultancy in London, blamed extreme weather conditions last year and added: "The resulting increases in food prices have contributed to social unrest in many countries, including in Egypt."
The consultancy warned of a vicious circle in which the crisis in Egypt could raise prices even further since other Arab governments were beginning to restrict exports and stockpile food supplies to prevent similar unrest.
The FAO data showed that prices for dairy products rose by 6.2% from December, oils and fats gained 5.6%, while cereals went up by 3.0% because of lower global supply of wheat and maize.
Meat prices remained broadly stable due to a fall in prices in Europe caused by last month's scare over dioxin poisoning in eggs and pork in Germany, compensated by a slight increase in export prices from Brazil and the United States.
The FAO data showed the Food Price Index averaged 200 points over the whole of 2008, at the height of the 2007/2008 food crisis. The index breached that level for the first time in October 2010 with 205 points and kept rising.
The report showed that Somalia and Uganda have been particularly hard hit in Africa and that the ongoing unrest in Ivory Coast has helped push up prices in West Africa as a whole because of its status as a key transport hub.
But the most dramatic rises were seen in Asia, with a surge in prices across the board in India due to "unseasonal rains" during the harvest season "which resulted in severe damage to the summer crop and supply shortages," FAO said.
