Global food prices continue to rise

ROME: The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s price index rose for the second consecutive month in March, driven by robust increases in grain and dairy prices, especially those of wheat and maize, the agency said on Thursday. The index averaged 172.8 points in March, 1.1 per cent higher than in February and 0.7 per cent above its value a year earlier, the FAO stated. Declines in price quotations for sugar and most vegetable oils were more than offset by increases for maize, wheat and most dairy products, said the agency.