The global food price index published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) fell in February for the 11th consecutive month, down 19% from the record level reached in March following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The organization said Friday its index, which tracks the prices of the world’s most traded commodities, averaged 129.8 points last month, compared with 130.6 in January. This is the lowest value of the index since September 2021.
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And the monthly update said that the decline in prices for vegetable oils and dairy products contributed to the decline in the index and erased the impact of rising sugar prices.
The FAO Cereal Price Index declined slightly by 0.1% m/m in February, with wheat prices slightly up and rice prices down.
Prices of vegetable oils fell 3.2 percent, dairy products 2.7 percent and sugar 6.9 percent, to their highest level in six years, due to lower production in India.
In a separate report on cereal supply and demand, FAO published its first preliminary forecast for world wheat production in 2023 and included estimates of an annual decline to 784 million tonnes, although the crop will remain in second place. on the record.
The FAO has raised its estimate of world cereal production in 2022 by nine million tons to 2.77 billion tons, although it will still be 1.3 percent lower year-on-year.
The report indicated that the upward revision is primarily related to rice due to improved production prospects in India.
