Its food price index, which tracks the most globally-traded food commodities, averaged 125.7 points in 2021, the highest since 131.9 in 2011.
The monthly index eased slightly in December but had climbed for the previous four months in a row, reflecting harvest setbacks and strong demand over the past year.
"While normally high prices are expected to give way to increased production, the high cost of inputs, ongoing global pandemic and ever more uncertain climatic conditions leave little room for optimism about a return to more stable market conditions even in 2022," said the agency’s FAO economist Abdolreza Abbassian.
