Nigeria, March 4 -- Global food prices rose for the ninth conservative month in February, led by sugar and vegetable oils, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations has said.

The FAO said this in its Food Price Index report released on Thursday. The index tracks international prices of most commonly traded food commodities.

The FAO Food Price Index averaged 116.0 points in February, 2.4 per cent higher than the previous month and 26.5 per cent from a year ago.

In the report, the FAO Sugar Price Index rose by 6.4 per cent from January, as production declined in key producing countries together with strong import demand from Asia prompted ongoing concerns over tighter global supplies.

"Expectations of a production reco...