World food prices spiking - KWWL.com

World food prices spiking

Posted:
Written by Kera Mashek, Multimedia Journalist - bio | email

A United Nations agency says international food prices rose sharply in July after three months of decline, driven by a spike in grain and sugar prices.

The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization said in its monthly price report on Thursday that severe drought in the United States pushed up corn prices by almost 23 percent while expectations of worsened crop prospects in Russia sent world wheat prices up 19 percent.

The agency says its index climbed 6 percent in July although it was well below its peak reached in February 2011.

The agency keeps a close watch on volatile global prices because spikes in the prices of staple foods have led to riots in some countries in recent years.

Powered by WorldNow
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and KWWL. All Rights Reserved.
For more information on this site, please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

Persons with disabilities who need assistance with issues relating to the content of this station's public inspection file should contact Administrative Assistant Sandy Youngblut at 319-291-1259. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, at 888-835-5322 (TTY) or at fccinfo@fcc.gov.