AKP Phnom Penh, March 06, 2026 --  International rices in February were up 0.4 percent from the previous month as world food prices rose for the first time in five months, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said Friday.

In a statement released in Rome, the UN agency said higher rice prices were “supported by sustained demand for basmati and Japonica varieties.”

The overall FAO Food Price Index averaged 125.3 points in February, up 0.9 percent from its revised January level, ending a five-month downward trend. But it was still 1.0 percent below the level in February last year.

The increase last month reflected higher quotations for wheat, most vegetable oils and several meat types which outweighed declines in cheese and sugar prices, the FAO said.

By Sao Da