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UN / FOOD PRICE INDEX
STORY: UN / FOOD PRICE INDEX
TRT: 03:13
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 07 OCTOBER 2022, NEW YORK CITY / RECENT
RECENT - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters
07 OCTOBER 2022, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Dujarric at the podium, Torero on screen, press room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Maximo Torero, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):
“The index fell in September for the sixth consecutive month after an all-time high that was reached in March 2022. The decline in September was driven by another significant fall in the world prices of vegetable oils, together with moderate declines in those of sugar, meat and dairy products. By contrast, the price index for cereals increased to September.”
4. Close up, journalist asking question
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Maximo Torero, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):
“With this new decline in September, the food price index of FAO is down 14.6 percent from its peak in March, however, it is still remains 5.5 percent above its value a year ago these in September 2021.”
6. Wide shot, Dujarric at the podium, Torero on screen, press room
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Maximo Torero, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):
“First, lower oil prices generally reflect better availability at the global level. However, it has not lead to better food access for low income countries, this is due to several factors including the high costs of processing and transportation logistics and the depreciation of the currencies against the US dollar. Second, the reason decreases in raw prices do not mean market instability. We’re still subject to uncertainty and volatility, which related to developments in the energy and fertilizer markets, to weather conditions and to policy reactions, especially by exporting countries.”
8. Close up, journalist asking question
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Maximo Torero, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):
“Notwithstanding some declines, prices of energy and gas remain high, reducing fertilizer affordability and increasing production costs, adding serious challenges to the production of 2022 and 2023, which is right now our major concern, which could put at risk food availability in 2020 to 2023.”
10. Wide shot, Dujarric at the podium, Torero on screen, press room
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Maximo Torero, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):
“What we had this year was a food access crisis, not a food availability crisis, despite the war in Ukraine. In terms of food access, still we have a problem because the poorest countries are still not been able to afford those commodities.”
12. Close up, Dujarric at the podium
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Maximo Torero, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):
“For the 2022-2023 season, we have a serious concern because of the substantial increase in the price of fertilizers, because of the challenges we're seeing on rice market, which is not only affected by the fertilizer price increase, but also what is happening in Pakistan, which is the fourth exporter of rice in the in the world.”
14. Wide shot, Dujarric at the podium, Torero on screen, press room
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Maximo Torero, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):
“We have a concern still of food availability and food access for the next season, which is something that we need to look carefully and avoid. So I don't think we are out of the problem. And the decline that we observe today is different to the previous month in the sense that wheat prices are increasing and cereal prices in general have increased relative to what we observed from the previous five months.”
16. Wide shot, Dujarric at the podium, Torero on screen, press room
The benchmark for world food commodity prices declined for the sixth consecutive month in September, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported.
Briefing journalists in New York on Friday (7 Oct), FAO’s Chief Economist, Maximo Torero, said the decline “was driven by another significant fall in the world prices of vegetable oils, together with moderate declines in those of sugar, meat and dairy products.”
By contrast, Torero added, the price index for cereals increased in September.
The FAO Food Price Index averaged 136.3 points in September, down 1.1 percent from August while remaining 5.5 percent higher than its value a year earlier.
The Index tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of commonly traded food commodities.
The economist explained that “lower oil prices generally reflect better availability at the global level”, but that “has not lead to better food access for low income countries”, due to several factors including the high costs of processing and transportation logistics and the depreciation of the currencies against the US dollar.
“Notwithstanding some declines, prices of energy and gas remain high, reducing fertilizer affordability and increasing production costs, adding serious challenges to the production of 2022 and 2023, which is right now our major concern, which could put at risk food availability in 2020 to 2023,” added Torero.
The expert said that “what we had this year was a food access crisis, not a food availability crisis, despite the war in Ukraine.”
For the 2022-2023 season, Torero said FAO has “a serious concern” because of the substantial increase in the price of fertilizers, and challenges on the rice market, worsened by the crisis in Pakistan, which is the fourth exporter of rice in the in the world.
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