ROME (AP) — A U.N. agency says international food prices rose sharply in July after three months of decline, driven by a spike in grain and sugar prices.
The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization said in its monthly price report on Thursday that severe drought in the United States pushed up corn prices by almost 23 percent while expectations of worsened crop prospects in Russia sent world wheat prices up 19 percent.
The agency says its index climbed 6 percent in July although it was well below its peak reached in February 2011.
The agency keeps a close watch on volatile global prices because spikes in the prices of staple foods have led to riots in some countries in recent years.
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