We regularly hear reports of food prices rising. Sometimes it sounds as if the farmers are making a lot of money now, or that retailers are exploiting us, and the commentators conveniently forget that the price of the food on the shelf also depends on the international prices of food commodities. Last week, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) published its food price index and it gives one an idea of the major forces that influence food prices.
* The Economics Minute is supported by the NWU Business School.