Food price falls in January due to sugar down and vegetable oils

The world food price index fell 1.6% in January due to the decrease in sugar and vegetable oils, but rose 6.2% compared to the same month last year, the United Nations Food Organization reported Friday and agriculture (FAO).

The FAO indicator, which follows the changes in international prices of a set of food products monthly, fell in the first month of the year and averaged 124.9 points during the month of January, which means “A 1.6% decrease compared to the December level”

However, the indicator rose 6.2% compared to January 2024, although it is still 22% below the maximum reached in March 2022.

“The fall was driven by significant decreases in international contributions of vegetable oils and sugar”FAO said in a statement.

The sugar price index fell by 6.8% compared to December and 18.5% compared to the level of the previous year due to an improvement in the global supply prospects “As a result of the generally favorable climate in Brazil and the decision of the Indian government to resume sugar exports”

Also the price of vegetable oils decreased considerably with a decrease of 5.6% compared to December, which “It reverses a recent increase, although it remains 24.9% above a year ago”

This fall is mainly due to the decrease in world prices of palm and rapeseed oils, while the prices of soy and sunflower oils remained stable, FAO explained.

Also the price of rice fell 4.7% in January due to extensive export supply

On the other hand, dairy products presented a 2.4% increase compared to December, which represents 20.4% more than the level recorded in the same month of the previous year.

“The increase was driven by a monthly increase of 7.6% in international cheese quotes, which compensated for falls in butter prices and milk dust”Said FAO.

The price of meat also increased 0.3% compared to the previous month, but remained 6.9% below the year -on -year level.

As for cereals, in January the price of wheat registered a slight decrease, while that of corn increased, partly due to the “Lower forecast of production and stocks in the United States”

The FAO also pointed out this Friday that it has raised its forecast of world use of cereals in 2024/25, which is now estimated at an increase of 0.9% to 2,869 million tons, mainly driven by greater expected use of corn for eating animal feed .

Instead, it provides that cereal stocks decrease 2.2% at the end of 2025 and “campaigns and“That the World Stock Index on Use in 2024/25 decreases, but remains at a comfortable level of 29.8%”

The UN agency also reviewed its global production forecast by 2024, reducing it to just under 2,841 million tons, a 0.6% decrease compared to 2023.

Official estimates of Chinese rice production, Mali, Nepal and Vietnam has been higher, which has resulted in a new forecast of overall rice production of 539.4 million tons in 2024/25, an annual increase of 0.9% and A historical record.