The FAO Food Price Index fell 1% in October 2012, and for the first ten months of the year food prices were on average 8% lower than in the same period in 2011. The Index dipped two points to 213 points from September's revised level of 215 points. The decline was largely due to lower international prices of cereals and oils and fats, which more than offset increases in dairy and sugar prices.
A 20 million dollars agreement signed Wednesday by the United Nations and Brazil will seek to transfer the expertise of the South American country to support cotton farmers in developing economies.
One in eight people worldwide still suffers from chronic hunger, the UN's food agency said on Tuesday, describing the figure as unacceptable and warning that the fight against hunger was slowing down.
By Jose Graziano da Silva, Director General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization - Achieving the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving the prevalence of hunger in the world by 2015 is still within reach, but a strong, sustained acceleration of efforts is needed. Progress made in the fight against hunger since the middle of the last decade has lost steam, and it is time to regain momentum.
Argentina pledges to export an extra 2.75 million tons of corn from its 2011-12 harvest to a total of 16.45 million tons helping to ease tight international markets after this summer's drought in the US damaged crops there and fuelled fears of a food crisis.
Global food prices remained steady in August, the United Nations food agency said Thursday, but warned that the game is not over as it was only the beginning of the harvest season.
Following the first-ever detection of African swine fever (ASF)in Ukraine, the United Nations is warning that while control measures appear to have temporarily halted the disease's spread, it has established a firm foothold in the Caucasus and poses an ongoing risk to neighbouring areas.
US, France and Mexico are planning talks to consider whether an emergency meeting is needed to tackle the soaring price of grain. The three will hold a conference call at the end of this month after the worst US drought in 50 years threatens to cause a sharp rise in the cost of staple crops.
The world could face a food crisis of the kind seen in 2007/08 if countries restrict exports on concerns about a drought-fuelled grain price rally, the UN food agency FAO warned, after reporting a surge in global food prices in July.
The United Nations’ food agency cut its 2012 global rice production forecast but said supply would still outstrip demand and that there was no increased risk of a food crisis as long as countries do not resort to export bans.