ROME, Sept 6: Global food prices remained steady in August, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday, but warned that “the game is not over” as it was only the beginning of the harvest season.

An overall FAO index of food prices averaged 213 points last month, the same level as in July when it had jumped by six per cent due to droughts in major exporters the US and Russia, the Food and Agriculture Organisation said. The FAO deputy director David Hallam told a press conference in Rome: “There is a great deal of talk about whether we have some kind of food crisis emerging.

There is no strong evidence to suggest that in the price data.” But he added there was a risk speculators would re-enter the commodities markets, a sign that prices may still rise.

The FAO Assistant Director General Laurent Thomas warned that 22 countries, mostly in Africa, are in protracted crisis and said the world must be prepared for food shortages. A statement released by the organisation said that “although still high, the FAO index currently stands 25 points below its peak of 238 points in February 2011 and 18 points below its August 2011 level.

A sub index that measures cereal prices averaged 260 points in August, also unchanged on the month, “with some increases in wheat and rice offsetting a slight weakening in maize,” the statement said.

The Key agricultural regions in the US that had been hit by drought have now benefited from rainfall, while Russia has indicated it would not restrict exports despite a smaller crop in its key farming regions. The FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva warned, however, that “we need to keep vigilant on the prices because we are just starting the season,” adding “the game is not over.” Hallam noted that the US maize (corn) “production was expected to increase by about 10pc this year, in practice it’s fallen 13 per cent, so that was quite a shock.

“Given that the US accounts for more than 40 per cent of world exports of maize, that’s a significant development,” he said. The FAO said maize crops were expected to drop to 864 million tons in 2012, a decline of 20 million tons from 2011, following the US drought, its worst in around 60 years.—AFP