World must remain vigilant against food price hikes: UN

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Thursday reported that global food prices remained steady in August, but warned that the international community should continue to be vigilant and seek to prevent any sharp price increases.

"Current food prices do not justify talk of a world food crisis, although the international community should remain vigilant," UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said at a daily news briefing here.

The statement came after the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released its August Food Price Index (FPI), which showed that prices for August were unchanged from July.

In July, the FPI surged six percent after three months of decline. According to the FAO, the rise in prices was partly caused by the severe deterioration of maize crop prospects in the United States, as extensive drought damage helped push up maize prices by almost 23 percent.

The FPI measures the monthly change in international prices of a basket of 55 food commodities, including meat, dairy, sugar and cereals. It averaged 213 points in August, unchanged from July. Though still high, the index currently stands 25 points below its peak of 238 registered in February 2011, and is also 18 points below the level one year ago.

Meat prices, particularly those of poultry and pig, rose in August after three consecutive months of decline. Dairy prices also experienced a slight increase from July, sustained by the rising prices of skim milk powder, butter and whole milk powder.

Sugar prices, however, fell 8.5 percent from July, reflecting an improved production outlook and more favorable weather conditions in Brazil, the world's largest sugar exporter. In contrast, prices for oils and fats remained relatively unchanged, the FAO said in a news release. Enditem

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