The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says food prices in Asia remain high despite a brief drop in April.
联合国粮农组织说,亚洲粮食价格4月间一度短暂下跌后,又是居高不下。
According to the FAO, the retail cost of wheat and rice in Asia declined slightly last month, the first drop in nine months.
联合国粮农组织说,亚洲小麦和大米的零售价格4月份一度小幅下降。那是九个月来的第一次粮价下跌。
The price of rice, Asia’s staple, dropped two percent in Cambodia and Sri Lanka, and about half a percent in Bangladesh, it says. In India, the price of wheat declined seven percent.
粮农组织说,那次,亚洲人的主食大米的价格在柬埔寨和斯里兰卡下降了两个百分点。而在孟加拉只跌了大约半个百分点。印度的小麦价格曾下跌百分之七。
The oil factor
But the FAO attributed the fall in food costs to a brief, sharp drop in the price of crude oil.
粮农组织将那次粮价下跌,归因于原油价格短暂而直线的跌落。
Despite the price drop in some places, the cost of rice from one year ago is still higher by 29 percent in Bangladesh, 25 percent in China and 40 percent in Vietnam and Laos.
尽管有些地区价格下跌,但是和一年前相比,各地米价都有上涨。孟加拉的米价比一年前高出百分之29,中国的米价高出百分之25,而越南和老挝的米价则涨了百分之40。
The FAO's representative for the Asia-Pacific region, Hiroyuki Konuma, told reporters Wednesday that food prices across the region remain high and are hurting the poor most.
联合国粮农组织驻亚太地区代表小沼弘之星期三告诉记者,这个地区的粮价居高不下,对穷人伤害最大。
“So, negative impact of the retail price hike of food commodities, particularly of staple food like rice and wheat, it’s affecting the poor households which spend as much as 70 percent of their income for food,” Konuma said.
小沼弘之说:“食品零售价格高涨,特别是作为主食的大米和小麦,影响了贫困家庭。他们收入的百分之70要花在食物上。”