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Report: Food Prices to Rise Over Next Decade


Mother feeding her severely malnourished daughter at center run by CONCERN and supported by WFP (File)
Mother feeding her severely malnourished daughter at center run by CONCERN and supported by WFP (File)

Food prices will be mostly higher over the next decade, with some grain costs going up between 15 and 40 percent.

Tuesday's report from the FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization) and the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) says rising demand for bio-fuels made from food crops will help keep prices rising.

Prices will also be supported by growing demand from emerging nations with populations that are getting more prosperous.

But the study says food price increases will be slowed by rising agricultural production, particularly in emerging nations.

Brazil's agriculture will grow at the world's fastest pace, but China, India, Russia, and Ukraine will also see major gains.

The FAO report says one-sixth of the world's population, or about one billion people, are currently undernourished.

The agency says it will take both increased food output and rules that encourage international trade in food commodities to meet the needs of the world's growing population.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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