Global food prices index fell 10 pct in 2023: FAO

ROME: Global food prices declined again in December, falling by 1.5 percent from the previous month and ending the year 10.1 percent below its year-earlier level, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Friday.

The FAO said that in December, prices rose for dairy products and grains and cereals, but were more than compensated for by lower prices for sugar, vegetable oils and meat.

Grains and cereals, the largest component in the index, saw their prices rise 1.5 percent. However, they still ended the year 16.6 percent below levels from December 2022, according to the FAO.

Dairy prices gained 1.6 percent in December but were down by 16.1 percent for the year. The FAO said the gains for the month were due to higher demand for butter, whole milk powder and cheese.

The other sub-indexes all lost ground for the month.

The biggest declines were in sugar prices, which slipped 16.6 percent compared to that in November, falling to their lowest level in nine months. Prices fell due to strong production levels in Brazil. Nevertheless, despite the sharp fall in December, the sugar sub-index was still up for the year, with prices 14.9 percent above levels from December 2022.

Prices for vegetable oils were down by 1.4 percent, contributing to a 32.7-percent decrease for 2023 as a whole. The end-of-year decrease was due to a fall in prices for palm, rapeseed, soy and sunflower seed oils, due to weakening demand.

Meat prices declined 1.0 percent in December, and 1.8 percent for the year. The fall in prices over the final month of the year was due to lower demand for pig meat in Asia, offsetting a slight increase in demand for ovine meat.