Global Food Prices Fall for 11 Consecutive Months... Only 'Sugar' Rises

Global food prices have fallen for 11 consecutive months.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced on the 3rd (local time) that the global food price index in February this year was 129.8, down 0.6% from the previous month (130.6).

Edible oils and olive oils are displayed on the shelves of a large supermarket in Seoul. / Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The global food price index has been declining for 11 months since reaching an all-time high of 159.7 in March last year, immediately after the outbreak of the Ukraine war. It is the lowest level since September 2021.

The FAO surveys international price trends for 24 items and publishes a monthly food price index by five commodity groups: cereals, vegetable oils, meat, dairy, and sugar. The index is based on the average prices from 2014 to 2016, set at 100 for comparison.

Among the five commodity groups, the price indices for cereals (147.3), vegetable oils (135.9), meat (112.0), and dairy (131.3) fell, while sugar (124.9) rose.

The declines in vegetable oils (3.2%) and dairy (2.7%) were notable, and the price indices for cereals and meat both fell by 0.1% compared to the previous month. On the other hand, the sugar price index rose 6.9%, reaching its highest level in six years, as India's production forecast was revised downward.

The FAO also forecasted that global wheat production this year will decrease to 784 million tons compared to the previous year, but it is still expected to be the second-largest harvest on record.