FAO Reports that Food Prices Reached a Record High in December 2010

The U.N.s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported in January that its index of food commodity prices rose to a record high in December of 2010, equaling the high water mark of the 2007-8 food crisis that led to food riots in more than 30 countries. In December 2010, the FAO Food Price Index averaged 215 points, up 4 percent from November and 1 point above its peak in early summer 2008. The highest increases were recorded for the Sugar and Oils and Fats price indices. The December 2010 index was up 25 percent from December 2009. The Cereal Price Index rose to 238 points, up 39 percent from December 2009.  The report was issues in early January prior to the food riots that broke out later in the month in Tunisia, Algeria, Jordan, and Egypt.  The FAO’s report has set off an intense global debate as to the causes of the food crisis.

 http://blog.populationinstitute.org/2011/01/10/another-food-fight/