The prices for essential food items are likely to stay high, according to latest report released by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The 'agriculture outlook for decade 2011-2020' said that prices for cereals could average as much as 20 percent higher and those for meats as much as 30 percent higher, compared to 2001-10. The poor in the developing countries will be affected by the high prices of the agriculture commodity.

The report also highlighted decrease in agriculture production in this decade. “Global agricultural production is projected to grow at 1.7 percent annually, on average, compared to 2.6 percent in the previous decade,” the report said.

Vegetable oils, sugar, meat and dairy products will experience the highest increases in demand, it said. “There are signs that production costs are rising and productivity growth is slowing. Slower growth is expected for most crops, especially oilseeds and coarse grains, which face higher production costs and slowing productivity growth,” the report said.

It further added, “Land available for agriculture in many traditional supply areas is increasingly constrained and production must expand into less developed areas and into marginal lands with lower fertility and higher risk of adverse weather events.”

However, the outlook said it is cautiously optimistic that commodity prices will fall from their 2010-11 levels.

Read the FAO-OECD Outlook 2011-2020

Read the G20 report on mitigating and managing price volatility.