Global food prices fell 13.7% in 2023 compared to the previous year, with a marked drop in vegetable oils and grains, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported on Friday.
The FAO food price index, which measures the variation in international prices of a basket of basic products, decreased by 15.4% in the year for grains “due to good supply in world markets,” contrasting with the 2022 price increase linked to the war in Ukraine.
However, rice prices recorded a 21% annual increase in 2023, largely due to concerns about the effect of the El Niño weather phenomenon and the consequences of export restrictions imposed by India.
The largest drop corresponded to vegetable oils, whose price index decreased by 32.7% in the year compared to 2022.
This decline continued in December, especially due to the drop in soybean oil prices “as a result of the slowdown in demand from the biodiesel sector, as well as the improvement of weather conditions in some parts of the main producing regions of Brazil. “said the FAO.
Sugar was the only product that escaped the general annual decline with an increase of 26.7% in the year, although it has begun to decrease: in December, the index fell 16.6% compared to November, reaching its “lowest level”. low of the last nine months.
The collapse in sugar prices “was mainly due to the dynamic pace of production in Brazil” and “the decision of the Indian government to limit the use of sugar cane for ethanol production,” the FAO added.
Source: Larepublica
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