UN: Global food prices drop, but remain relatively high

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has reported that global food prices have dropped three points from March to April of this year, yet still remain relatively high level, a UN spokesperson said. “According to FAO’s Food Price Index...the fall was the first after three consecutive months of increases and although the index is significantly down from its record level of 235 points in April 2011, it is still well above the figures of under 200 which preceded the 2008 food crisis,” said Eduardo del Buey, the deputy UN spokesperson. The index was contained in the latest FAO Food Outlook, a global market analysis which comes out twice a year, reported Xinhua. The second half of this year will see generally improved supplies and continuing strong demand, said del Buey. The FAO report projected that cereal production will post a modest expansion to 2,371 million tonnes in 2012, from 2,344 million tonnes in 2011. The output of meat, fish and dairy products will also expand, it said. According to the report, the global food bill could decline this year to $1.24 trillion from the record high of $1.29 trillion in 2011.