Global food prices jump 1.4 precent in September

Global food prices rose by 1.4 percent in September after holding steady for two months as cereals, meat and dairy prices climbed, the UN Food and Agricultural Organization said Thursday. The FAO's Food Price Index, a monthly measure of changes in a basket of food commodities, edged up three points to 216 points in September. "Following two months of stability, the Index rose slightly, mostly on strengthening dairy and meat prices and more contained increases for cereals," a FAO statement said. Prices of sugar and oils fell, it added. The overall index remains far off the record 238 points reached in February 2011, and is 4 percent lower than in September 2011. The cereals subindex also rose, by 1.0 percent or three points from August to 263 points in September, as gains in wheat and rice offset a decline in maize. While gains in maize, or corn, prices had been behind most of the increases in recent months, the FAO said tightening wheat suppliers were also becoming a concern. The FAO said the Cereal Price Index is 7 percent higher than in the corresponding period last year but still 4 percent below the peak of 274 points registered in April 2008. The meat price index rose 2.1 percent, with pork and chicken prices seeing the biggest gains. The dairy index jumped by 7 percent from August, registering its sharpest monthly gain since January 2011, said the FAO.