World food prices rose 1.4 per cent in September, pushed up
by higher meat, dairy and cereals prices, according to the UN’s Food and
Agricultural Organisation.

According to a BBC report, the rise followed two months
where prices held steady, the FAO said.

There has been concern this year about possible food
shortages as drought has hit grain crops in the American midwest, Europe and
central Asia.

The FAO also forecast a decline in global cereal production
this year.

It now predicts 2.286 billion tonnes of cereal to be
produced, slightly down from the 2.295 billion tonnes it estimated a month ago.

The current forecast would mean a 2.6 per cent fall in
cereal production from 2011’s record crop.

The FAO said this would result in a significant reduction in
world cereal stocks by the end of 2013, but added that very early indications
for wheat crops in 2013 were encouraging.

Abdolreza Abbassian, senior economist at the FAO, said that
food prices were likely to remain high and volatility could increase.

“Prices are sustained. It is highly unlikely we will see a
normalisation of prices anytime soon,” he told Reuters.

“Volatility is not going to go away, if anything it may even
intensify further in coming months,” he said.

The FAO’s Food Price Index rose three points to 216 in
September, but this is still well below the record 238 reached in February
2011.

Cereal prices rose one poer cent from August, as gains in
wheat and rice offset a decline in maize.

Meat prices were up 2.1 per cent, with particularly strong
gains in the “grain-intensive” pig and poultry sectors.

Dairy prices rose seven per cent, the sharpest monthly
increase since January 2011.

“World demand for milk products remains firm which, combined
with increasing feed costs, is underpinning world quotations,” the FAO said.

But sugar prices fell 4.2 per cent, reflecting an improved
sugarcane harvest in Brazil, the world’s largest sugar exporter.