However, the World Bank reports that the average food staple has fallen by 11 per cent in the past year and is 18 per cent below its record in August 2012.
Much of the decline can be put down to record wheat and maize harvests - helped by good weather and falling fertiliser costs - which pushed down the price of those crops by 21 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively.
Furthermore, the report expects prices to continue to decline in the short term, with fertiliser prices set to fall further and conditions for crops forecast to be favourable.
However, the report notes that food prices are still historically high and cautions that crops could still be hit. "Deteriorating weather concerns among major producers and exporters, especially those in Argentina, Australia and parts of China; higher oil prices and the effects of an increasingly anticipated release of public stockpiles in Thailand on export rice prices all constitute risks to monitor in the short term," it said.
The report found that 56 per cent of the total food lost and wasted occurs in the developing country, most of it lost during the production, handling and storage phases. In the developed world, most of the waste relates to the "consumption" stage.
- UK Independent