ROME, April 3. /TASS/. The Food Price Index tracked by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) increased in March amid a rise in energy prices driven by the conflict in the Middle East, the UN agency said in a statement.
"The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of globally-traded food commodities, averaged 128.5 points in March, up 2.4% from February and 1.0% above its level a year ago," the statement reads.
According to FAO, fertilizer supply disruptions and high energy prices add uncertainty to markets, despite a broadly comfortable global cereal supply situation.
"Price rises since the conflict began have been modest, driven mainly by higher oil prices and cushioned by ample global cereal supplies," FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero pointed out. "But if the conflict stretches beyond 40 days with high input costs with current low margins, farmers will have to choose: farm the same with fewer inputs, plant less, or switch to less intensive fertilizer crops. Those choices will hit future yields and shape our food supply and commodity prices for the rest of this year and all of the next," he added.
Earlier, Torero told TASS that one of the main problems was the cessation of fertilizer exports from the Gulf region, as well as the disruption of shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz.