World food price index falls to lowest in more than 2 years
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Cereal prices have gone down as harvests of barley from farms like this one in France pick up.
PHOTO: AFP
LONDON – The United Nations food agency’s world price index fell in October to its lowest level in more than two years, driven by declines in sugar, cereals, vegetable oils and meat.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 120.6 points in October, down from 121.3 for September, the agency said in a report on Friday.
The October reading was the lowest since March 2021.
The FAO cereal price index averaged 125 points, down 1.3 points from September.
“International wheat prices fell by 1.9 per cent in October, reflecting generally higher-than-earlier-anticipated supplies in the United States and strong competition among exporters,” the agency said.
Dairy bucked the downward trend in prices, with the FAO index rising 2.4 points to 111.3 points, following nine months of consecutive declines.
“World milk powder prices increased the most, principally driven by surges in import demand, especially from North-east Asia,” the FAO said.
In a separate report on cereal supply and demand, the FAO maintained its forecast for world cereal production in 2023 at 2.819 billion metric tonnes, up 0.9 per cent from 2022.
“Turning to 2024, winter wheat plantings are under way across the Northern Hemisphere and area growth is expected to be limited, reflecting softer crop prices this year,” the FAO said.
Its report said in Ukraine the continuing effects of the war with Russia, including constrained access to fields and low farm-gate prices, along with less-than-ideal weather conditions, are seen leading to a reduction in the wheat area.
The agency also said sowing of the 2024 coarse grain crops was under way in the Southern Hemisphere.
“In Brazil, early indications point to a pullback in maize plantings of around 5 per cent, as cost-price ratios are favouring soybeans,” the report said. REUTERS
