Palm oil

Global food prices rose in March, the first increase since July, pulled higher by cooking oil prices despite the cost of grains continuing to ease, the U.N.'s Food and Agricultural Organization has said.

The FAO's overall Food Price Index climbed 1.1 percent over the month to stand at 118.3 points in March 2024. On an annual comparison it was 7.7 percent lower.

The Ministry of Development has formally declared war on multinationals, imposing fines on the two largest companies in the consumer goods sector, Unilever and Procter & Gamble, a war that had been announced by the prime minister himself a few weeks ago.

The Competition Commission has in its sights two multinationals, Unilever and P&G, which hold the largest market shares in the washing detergent category. 

World food prices fell slightly last month after hitting a record in March but remain high due to the Ukraine war, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization said on May 6.

International sanctions against Russia as well as export flow disruptions resulting from the February 24 invasion have sparked fears of a global hunger crisis.

Indonesia's decision to suspend palm oil exports in the face of domestic shortages has pushed vegetable oil prices to new highs, further tightening a market already on edge due to the war in Ukraine and global warming.

The Turkish division of Unilever is being fined some 480 million lira ($61 million) for abusing its commanding position in the ice cream sector, Turkish authorities announced on March 22. 

World food prices declined in April for the third month in a row, affected by the economic and logistical negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the UN Food Agency reported on Thursday, BNR reported, citing Reuters.

Papoutsanis, the company which set up modern Greece's first industrial-scale soap producing plant in 1870, expects its losses this year from the shuttering of hotels to be offset by soaring supermarket sales. The increase in demand as people wash their hands more frequently - due to the coronavirus outbreak - has seen its factory increase output in recent days.

Global food prices hit a five-year high in December, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Jan. 9.

The FAO Food Price Index soared 2.5 percent on a monthly basis, averaging 181.7 last month, due to strong rallies in vegetable oils, sugar and dairy markets, said the FAO.

Greenpeace activists have blocked the entrance of a refinery in southern France, where oil giant Total uses controversial palm oil to produce biofuels.

Environmentalists say palm oil is causing deforestation, with huge areas of tropical rainforest in Southeast Asia being cut down or burned in recent decades to create space for plantations.