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Global Food Prices Rise For 10th Month In A Row
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly-traded food commodities, averaged 118.5 points in March, 2.1 percent higher than in February and reaching its highest level since June 2014
Vegetable Oils Drive FAO Food Price Index
Higher In March While Cereal Quotations Dip
Packing butter in the Russian Federation.
8 April 2021, Rome - Global food commodity prices rose in March, marking their tenth consecutive monthly increase, with quotations for vegetable oils and dairy products leading the rise, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported today.
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly-traded food commodities, averaged 118.5 points in March, 2.1 percent higher than in February and reaching its highest level since June 2014.
Trends varied by commodity types. The March increase was led by the FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index, which rose 8.0 percent from the previous month to hit a nearly 10-year high, with soy oil prices rising sharply due in part to the prospects of firm demand from the biodiesel sector.
The FAO Dairy Price Index increased 3.9 percent from February, with butter prices buoyed by somewhat tight supplies in Europe associated with increased demand in anticipation of a food-service sector recovery. Milk powder prices also rose, supported by a surge in imports in Asia, particularly China, due to declining production in Oceania and scarce shipping container availability in Europe and North America.
The FAO Meat Price Index also rose, by 2.3 percent from February, with imports by China and a surge in internal sales in Europe ahead of the Easter holiday celebration underpinning increasing poultry and pig meat quotations. Bovine meat prices remained steady, while ovine meat prices declined as dry weather in New Zealand led to farmers offloading animals.
By contrast, the FAO Cereal Price Index dropped by 1.8 percent, but it is still 26.5 percent higher than in March 2020. Wheat export prices declined the most, reflecting generally good supplies and favorable production prospects for 2021 crops. Maize and rice prices also declined, while those for sorghum rose.
The FAO Sugar Price Index declined 4.0 percent in the month, triggered by prospects of large exports from India, but it remained more than 30 percent above its year-earlier level.
Positive cereal crop prospects in 2021
FAO expects world cereal production in 2021 to increase for the third consecutive year and has raised its preliminary global wheat production forecast on better than-earlier-anticipated crop conditions in several countries. Global wheat production is forecast to reach a new high of 785 million tonnes in 2021, up 1.4 percent from 2020, driven by a likely sharp rebound across most of Europe and expectations of a record harvest in India.
Above-average outputs are also expected for maize, with a record harvest anticipated in Brazil and a multi-year high in South Africa, according to FAO's Cereal Supply and Demand Brief, also released today.
For the current 2020/21 marketing season, global cereal utilization is now forecast at 2 777 million tonnes, 2.4 percent higher than the previous year, driven largely by higher estimates of feed use of wheat and barley in China, where the livestock sector is recovering from African swine fever.
World cereal stocks at the end of 2021 are forecast to decline by 1.7 percent from their opening levels to 808 million tonnes. Combined with the utilization forecasts, the global cereal stock-to-use ratio for 2020/21 is foreseen to dip to a seven-year low of 28.4 percent.
FAO also raised its forecast for world trade in cereals during 2020/21 to 466 million tonnes, a 5.8 percent increase from the previous year, driven by even faster trade in coarse grains linked to unprecedented levels of maize purchases by China. Also for rice, international trade is forecast to expand by 6 percent year-on-year.
The Brief offers more details and updated assessments.
Resetting The Food System From Farm to Fork
Resetting the future of food is possible and with this aim, we will present in an international debate- concrete solutions to rethink our food systems from farm to fork
Barilla Foundation and Food Tank invite you to attend the online event “Resetting the Food System from Farm to Fork: Setting the Stage for the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit” to be held on December 1st, from 2.00 PM CET.
Resetting the future of food is possible and with this aim, we will present in an international debate- concrete solutions to rethink our food systems from farm to fork.
The event will begin by highlighting the critical role of farmers in feeding the world and managing natural resources, food business in progressing towards the 2030 Agenda, and chefs in re-designing food experiences.
Here are details of the first three conversations of the day, which will feature, among others, the likes of Edie Mukiibi, Vice President, Slow Food International; Massimo Bottura, Chef and Owner, Osteria Francescana; Jeffrey Sachs, Professor and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development, Columbia University; Director, U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network; Elly Schlein, Vice President, Emilia Romagna Region.
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The world needs urgent action on agriculture and food systems.
Let's make the future grow!
2030 is the deadline to achieve all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The next decade is a chance to remake our future. Through the “Decade of Action”, we all have a part to play in the transition towards sustainable economic, social, and environmental development—with sustainable food systems at its heart.
In a rapidly changing world, food systems face substantial challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic acting as a multiplier of food and nutrition insecurity. Globally, two billion people are malnourished. More than 700 million adults are obese while at least 820 million suffer from hunger—a statistic that will no doubt increase as a result of the pandemic. And some one-third of the global harvest is lost or waste. Biodiversity is declining, water and land are increasingly degraded, climate change is posing adverse impacts on agricultural production and livelihoods.
We must act now to address the impending global food emergency and avoid the worst impacts of the pandemic while seizing upon the opportunity of resetting food systems. Over the next 20 years, food systems will need to nourish 10 billion people while also protecting precious natural resources for future generations. The spread of COVID-19 has demonstrated the fragility of global food systems, but it also offers opportunities to transform the way we produce, distribute, and consume food.
Join the conversation
Distinguished speakers
Leading experts, world-renowned chefs, and international journalists will convene for this unique virtual event.
Lively discussions
Panels will cover diverse themes including the role of food as medicine, the new food economy, and the EU’s Farm to Fork strategy.
Trends spotlights
The latest food and agricultural technologies will be discussed, as well as how chefs are re-designing food experiences.
Concrete change
The event will generate recommendations that will help set the stage for the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit.
SPEAKERS
Why We Believe Vertical, Urban Farming Can Help Save The Planet!
Conventional industrial farming contributes significantly to issues such as deforestation, biodiversity loss and the release of carbon emissions
Sophie | 2020
Our vertical, hydroponic farm based in Paddington, London.
Increasingly, we are all becoming aware of the negative impact of our food system on the environment. As individuals many of us are taking action to reduce the environmental impact of our diets, whether we’re reducing our meat and dairy consumption by trying out ‘meat-free Mondays’ or ‘veganuary’, buying zero waste foods, trying to buy more locally produced food or even growing our own.
Ultimately, we are looking for ways to minimize the negative environmental impacts of our food system. At Square Mile Farms, we believe that urban farming can play an important role in building a sustainable food system. Not only can we reduce food miles and prevent natural habitats from being converted for growing, we can also re-engage people to help them understand how food reaches their plates, which we believe is essential to enact real change going forward.
How does the current food system negatively impact the environment?
Conventional industrial farming contributes significantly to issues such as deforestation, biodiversity loss, and the release of carbon emissions. According to the Food Climate Research Network, the global food system is responsible for around 20-30% of greenhouse gas emissions. The WWF notes that food is responsible for 60% of global biodiversity loss and the UNFAO records that food production accounts for 70% of freshwater withdrawals.
The clearing of forests for livestock or growing crops is doubly concerning: not only do these practices have their own environmental impacts, e.g. methane emissions and issues related to fertilizer run-off, but they are also destroying forests which are important ‘carbon sinks’, absorbing approximately 2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide yearly according to the UN.
Clearly, our current food system is flawed and this is only set to worsen as demands increase.
Infographic from: FCRN, ‘What is the food system’s contribution to the global GHG emissions total?’
Growing pressures on the food system
By 2050 the UN predicts the world population will grow to 9 billion: this is expected to require 60% more food and increase demand for water by 20% in the agriculture sector alone. So we need to find ways of making the food system more sustainable. We need to increase food production, while minimizing the environmental impact, or ideally making it negligible.
How can hydroponic farming in offices lessen the environmental impact of our food system?
We believe hydroponic, vertical farming is part of the solution to this issue. This method of growing food uses around 90% less water than conventional agricultural systems and can increase crop yields by up to 500%. So we can tackle two key problems in our current food system, the demand for water (by using considerably less) and the spatial impact (growing vertically allows a much more efficient use of space). By using existing urban spaces, such as workplaces, we can grow veg and herbs without converting more land for agricultural purposes.
Growing in offices also has the benefit of reducing food miles. By bringing food production to population centers, and further to that, by bringing it to people’s workplaces we are able to provide fresh produce where people are. If you’re taking home fresh produce once a week from work, there are virtually no food miles involved as you’d be traveling to and from work anyway!
Our office farm installations.
Another important way in which office farming can help improve our food system is by re-engaging consumers in cities. Writing for the World Economic Forum, Ellen MacArthur, a champion of Circular Economy, emphasized the important role cities will have in achieving a sustainable food system, especially because “80% of all food is expected to be consumed in cities by 2050”. She notes that cities should source food locally where possible and that they should avoid being “passive consumers” and instead, use their demand power to reward responsible farming practices. Office farming allows us to bring food production to the forefront of people’s minds, driving engagement, and encouraging conversation around our food system. We believe this is vital in order to educate and to inspire the change that we need to secure a sustainable future.
We believe that individual action is important when it comes to enacting change, but to achieve this we need innovative ideas that make it achievable for consumers to make such changes a reality. That’s why we bring urban farming to offices. We install farm walls and displays to improve employee wellbeing, drive engagement, and of course, provide fresh, nutritious produce. If you’d like to find out more about our offering click here.
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Sources:
Bradley, P. and Marulanda, C., ‘Simplified Hydroponics to Reduce Global Hunger’, Acta Hortic. 554, 289-296.
Innovate UK, ‘Predictions - The Future of Food’.
MacArthur, Ellen, ‘Our food system is no longer fit for the 21st century’.
FCRN, ‘What is the food system’s contribution to the global GHG emissions total?'
UNFAO, ‘Water’.
UNFAO, ‘Water Use’.
UN News, ‘Climate Change’.
WWF, ‘Why we’re working on food’.
UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme, ‘The United Nations world water development report, 2016’.