ROME, Italy - July 7, 2011 - World food prices rose by 1% in June, the UN's food agency said on Thursday.

"A strong rise in international sugar prices" was behind much of the increase, the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization said in a statement.

The agency said that its index of food prices rose to 234 points in June, 39% higher than in June 2010 but below the all-time high level of 238 points in February this year.

The FAO Sugar Price Index rose 14% from May to June and "production in Brazil, the world's biggest sugar producer, is forecast to fall below last year's level," it said.

The FAO Cereal Price index averaged 259 points in June, down 1% from May, in part due to "improved weather conditions in Europe and the announced lifting of the Russian Federation's export ban," it added.

However, the agency warned that the maize market "remained tight" because of "low 2010 supplies and continued wet conditions in the United States."

Prices of rice were mostly up in June, "reflecting strong import demand and uncertainty over export prices in Thailand, the world's largest rice exporter."