联合国粮农组织：9月粮食价格连续第二个月攀升

文 / 林煇智

10/07/2021

联合国公布的一项食品价格指数显示，9月份食品成本上涨了1.2%，在过去一年中约上涨三分之一。（彭博社）

（早报讯）联合国粮食机构周四（7日）表示，受谷物和植物油价格上涨的推动，9月份世界粮食价格连续第二个月上涨。该价格仍比一年前的水平高出约三分之一。

路透社报道，总部设在罗马的联合国粮食及农业组织（FAO）还略微提高了对2021年全球谷物产量的预测，从一个月前估计的27.88亿吨提高到28亿吨。

联合国公布的一项食品价格指数显示，9月份食品成本上涨了1.2%，在过去一年中约上涨三分之一。几乎所有类型的食品价格都上涨，植物油等主要主食供应短缺，小麦需求持续强劲，收成却受到恶劣气候的影响。

在小麦的带动下，谷物类上涨了2%，稻米价格也上涨。另外，植物油上涨1.7%，主因棕榈油的强劲需求以及对马来西亚工人短缺的担忧。乳制品和糖的价格也持续上扬，肉类则保持稳定。

货运成本上扬、供应链工人短缺使问题更加复杂，导致一些超市货架上的商品短缺。虽然商品在杂货店上架需要时间，但世界各地的消费者已经受到价格上涨的打击，增加通胀压力并促使政府寻找解决方案以控制成本。

联合国粮食及农业组织的资深经济学家阿巴希安在一份报告中指出，“在主要谷物中，小麦将成为未来几周的焦点，因为需求将受到价格快速上涨的考验。”

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World food prices continue to rise, hit 10-year peak, U.N. agency says

By Staff | Reuters

10/07/2021

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World food prices rose for a second consecutive month in September to reach a 10-year peak, driven by gains for cereals and vegetable oils, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday.

The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) also projected record global cereal production in 2021, but said this would be outpaced by forecast consumption.

FAO’s food price index, which tracks international prices of the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 130.0 points last month, the highest reading since September 2011, according to the agency’s data.

The figure compared with a revised 128.5 for August. The August figure was previously given as 127.4.

On a year-on-year basis, prices were up 32.8 per cent in September.

Agricultural commodity prices have risen steeply in the past year, fueled by harvest setbacks and Chinese demand.

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The FAO’s cereal price index rose by two per cent in September from the previous month. That was led by a near four per cent increase for wheat prices, with the UN agency citing tightening export availabilities amid strong demand.

“Among major cereals, wheat will be the focus in the coming weeks as demand need to be tested against fast rising prices,” FAO Senior Economist Abdolreza Abbassian said in a statement.

World vegetable oil prices were up 1.7 per cent on the month and showing a year-on-year rise of about 60 per cent, as palm oil prices climbed on robust import demand and concerns over labor shortages in Malaysia, FAO said.

Palm oil futures have rallied further in early October to hit record highs as a surge in crude oil markets has lent further support to vegetable oils used in biodiesel.

Global sugar prices rose 0.5 per cent in September with concern over adverse crop weather in top exporter Brazil partly offset by slowing import demand and a favorable production outlook in India and Thailand, according to FAO.

For cereal production, FAO projected a record world crop of 2.800 billion tonnes in 2021, up slightly from 2.788 billion estimated a month ago.

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That would be below world cereal use of 2.811 billion tonnes, a forecast revised up by 2.7 million tonnes from a month earlier mainly to reflect increased wheat use in animal feed, FAO said in a cereal supply and demand note.

Global cereal stocks were expected to ease in 2021/22 but would still be at a comfortable level, FAO added.

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