China News Service, Beijing, February 4 (Liu Liang) The food price index released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on the 4th showed that global food prices rose for the eighth consecutive month in January.

In January this year, the index averaged 113.3 points, an increase of 4.3% from the previous month, setting a new monthly average index high since July 2014.

  The FAO stated that the continued rise in global food prices is mainly driven by rising sugar, grain and vegetable oil prices.

The FAO cereal price index rose 7.1% month-on-month, and wheat prices also rose 6.8%; the vegetable oil price index rose 5.8% month-on-month in January, the highest level since May 2012.

  FAO also released the grain supply and demand situation on the same day, and expects that global grain stocks will drop significantly.

  In terms of output, the latest forecasts indicate that wheat and rice output will hit a record high in 2020.

Looking ahead to cereal production in 2021, winter wheat production in the northern hemisphere will increase slightly this year.

In the southern hemisphere, 2021 corn production in Argentina and Brazil is expected to decline from the record level in 2020, but it is still expected to be above average.

The production outlook for South Africa and its neighboring countries is also more optimistic.

  At the same time, the latest forecast this month heralds an increase in global trade, and at the same time global grain stocks have dropped significantly.

It is currently forecasted that the global cereal consumption in 2020/2021 will be 2.761 billion tons, an increase of 52 million tons over the previous season.

  The latest FAO forecast for global cereal stocks is 801 million tons, down 2.2%, the lowest in five years.

It is predicted that the ratio of global grain stocks to consumption will drop to 28.3%, a seven-year low.

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