World food prices had an average annual increase of 28% in 2021, said the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) this Thursday (6).
In December, there was a slight drop of 0.9% compared to November, and a rise of 23.1% compared to the December 2020 index.
But “with regard to the whole of 2021, calculating the averages of the whole year, the FAO food price index averaged 125.7 points, which is 28.1% more than the previous year”, specified the entity, based in Rome.
The cereal price index reached its highest annual level since 2012 and was on average 27.2% higher than in 2020, with a rise of 44.1% for maize and 31.3% for wheat.
The rice price index, on the other hand, dropped 4%.
On the other hand, sugar rose 29.8% over the previous year and reached its highest level since 2016. And that of meats registered a high of 12.7%.
2022 begins with great uncertainty, the FAO noted.
“While high prices are normally expected to lead to increased production and high input costs, the current pandemic and conditions of increasing climate uncertainty leave little room for optimism regarding the recovery of more stable business conditions still in 2022” , said Abdolreza Abbassian, an economist at the organization.
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