Global food prices continue to climb, hitting a decade high last month after rising by more than 30 per cent within the last year, according to the latest report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The FAO food price index, which tracks international prices of the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 133.2 points last month compared with a revised 129.2 for September.

The agency’s figures highlighted the soaring cost of cereals and vegetable oils around the world as COVID-19 restrictions, disruptions to supplies, reduced harvests, factory closures, and political tensions push up prices.

Vegetable oil prices hit a record high after rising by almost 10 per cent in October after being influenced by increases in palm oil prices as labour shortages in Malaysia continued to hamper production, the FAO said.

Meanwhile, cereal prices increased by 3.2 per cent from the previous month, and was up by more than 22 per cent compared to the previous year.

Within the cereals category, wheat prices rose for a fourth-straight month to reach their highest level since November 2012 after major exporters such as Canada, Russia, and the US had poor harvests.

Shipping disruptions also pushed up milk prices, with the cost of dairy products rising by almost 16 per cent over the last year, the FAO reported.

In contrast, meat prices eased for the third-consecutive month, led by falling pork prices, due to reduced purchases from China and falling beef prices triggered by mad cow disease concerns surrounding Brazilian supplies.Additionally, prices of sugar also fell 1.8 per cent in October — the first decline after six straight months of price gains.