Global food prices hit 10-year high, UN reports

Economists are concerned higher shopping bills could threaten the world’s economic recovery from coronavirus

Supermarket prices are expected to surge as the world overcomes the adverse economic effects of coronavirus (AFP via Getty Images)

Global food prices jumped at their fastest monthly rate for more than a decade in May, according to the United Nations, amplifying fears that coronavirus-driven inflation is accelerating.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) food price index, which tracks global prices of a range of food including cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar, also climbed for a twelfth straight month.

According to the FAO, food prices in May were 4.8 per cent higher than in April – the biggest monthly rise since October 2010 – and 39.7 per cent higher than in May 2020.