United Nations Radio

After dramatic increases over the past few months, food prices appear to have stabilized, the UN Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO) reported today.

The global rise in food prices has spurred political and economic turmoil from Haiti to Cameroon.

While FAO says the price of basic foods had not risen from March to April, the agency still remains cautious. Abdolreza Abbassian is secretary of the intergovernmental group on grains at the FAO in Rome.

"A lot depends on the weather; a lot depends on how this year's production is going to finally show up starting with wheat in northern hemisphere countries in the coming months, and then followed by major coarse grain crops like corn crops and so forth, and then eventually rice. So there is a lot of uncertainty still in the market and because of this uncertainty, it is very difficult for us to say now everything is going to be normal."

FAO believes the situation will still remain volatile, and that food prices could rise again.

For UN Radio, I'm Dianne Penn.

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