全球食品價格再創紀錄

The United Nations says world food prices have risen to record levels. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said Thursday its monthly Food Price Index jumped 3.4 percent from December to January. The index is now at its highest level since the FAO started measuring food prices in 1990.

The FAO said the cost of almost all major commodities, like grains and oils, rose last month, while the cost of meats remained unchanged. FAO economist Abdolreza Abbassian said food prices are likely to remain high for months to come, and warned the high prices could cause problems in poor countries that rely on imports to feed their people. Abbassian said one positive sign is that many countries are anticipating strong harvests, which could keep the domestic price of grain from rising more quickly.

聯合國說，全球食品價格已經上漲到創記錄的高水平。聯合國糧農組織星期四表示，該組織1月份的食品價格指數比12月份上漲了3.4%。這個指數現在處於聯合國糧農組織1990年開始衡量食品價格以來的最高水平。

聯合國糧農組織說，如糧食和食用油類等幾乎所有主要商品價格上個月都上漲，而肉類價格則保持不變。聯合國糧農組織的經濟學家阿巴西恩說，食品價格在今後數月內可能仍然保持在高位，並警告說，高昂的價格可能會在依賴進口食品來滿足本國人民需求的貧困國家帶來問題。阿巴西恩說，一個積極的跡象是，很多國家預期會有很好的收成，這會使國內的糧食價格不至於上升更快。