Dissertation
3 February 2011
Highlights
n The FAO Food Price Index further strengthened in January with price gains for all food commodities, except meat.
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International prices of wheat and maize rose in January but those of rice decreased.
n In Asia, domestic prices of rice continued to increase in several countries despite the decline in international prices.
n In wheat importing countries of Asia, Latin America and Africa, prices of wheat products have stabilized at high levels.
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In maize importing countries of Central America, prices of maize have started to rise.
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In sub-Saharan Africa, prices of main staple coarse grains remain at generally low levels although they have started to seasonally increase in some countries.
FAO food price indices
Countries in this issue:
EASTERN AFRICA:
Ethiopia, Kenya, United Republic of
Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, Somalia,
Rwanda, Burundi 3
CENTRAL AFRICA:
Democratic Republic of Congo,
Cameroon 4
WESTERN AFRICA:
Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad,
Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Cape Verde 5
SOUTHERN AFRICA:
Malawi, Zimbabwe, South Africa,
Mozambique 6
FAR EAST ASIA:
China, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh,
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Mongolia 7
CIS:
Ukraine, Russian Federation,
Tajikistan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan 9
LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN:
Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala,
Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil 10
The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) rose for the seventhconsecutivemonth,averaging231pointsin January 2011, up 3.4 percent from December 2010 and the highest (in both real and nominal terms) sincetheindexhasbeenbacktrackedin1990.Prices of all the commodity groups monitored registered strong gains in January compared to December, except for meat, which remained unchanged.
The FAO Cereal Price Index averaged 245 points in January, up 3 percent from December and the highest since July 2008, but still 11 percent
below