The reference index of international food prices of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) decreased in 2023 as a whole by 13.7% compared to the average value of the previous year and only increased of sugar, the organization reported this Friday

This is a sharp decline after the rebound in 2022, related to the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. The maintenance of cereal exports, even lower than in the past, by kyiv, the abundance of Russian and Australian wheat supplies and the good Brazilian corn and soybean harvests have favored the fall in prices.

The FAO food price index, which analyzes monthly changes in international prices of a set of food products traded worldwide, registered 118.5 points in December, which represents a drop of 1.5% compared to to the previous month and 10.1% less from December 2022.

In detail, cereal prices increased 1.5% since November, as those of wheat, corn, rice and barley rose, in part due to logistical interruptions that hindered shipments from the main exporting countries, he indicated. FAO in a statement.

For the year as a whole, the index was 15.4% below the 2022 average, reflecting well-supplied global markets, although the price of rice rose 21% on concerns about the impact of El Niño on its production and the export restrictions imposed by India.

In contrast, vegetable oil prices fell by 1.4%, reflecting the moderation in purchases of palm, rapeseed, sunflower and soybean oil, with the latter especially affected by the slowdown in demand from the biodiesel sector , as well as the improvement of climatic conditions in the main growing areas of Brazil. For 2023 as a whole, this index was 32.7 percent lower than the previous year’s level.

Sugar fell 16.6 percent in December, hitting its lowest in nine months, although still 14.9 percent higher than the same month in 2022.

The fall in sugar prices was mainly due to the strong pace of production in Brazil, together with the reduction in the use of sugar cane for ethanol production in India, the FAO explained.

The price of meat fell 1% in December (-1.8% in 2023), while FAO dairy products increased 1.6%, although they still remain 16.1 percent below their value in December 2022.

“The monthly increase was due to rising butter and cheese prices, supported by strong domestic sales in Western Europe ahead of the holiday season. At the same time, strong global import demand led to an increase in demand of international whole milk powder,” FAO concluded.