FAO: World food price index down in November

The global food price index of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) fell slightly in November, marking the eighth consecutive month of decline since a record high in March following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

According to Reuters, the organization said today, Friday, that the food price index, which measures the most traded food commodities globally, recorded an average of 135.7 points last month, down from 135.9 points in October.

The October figure agreed with the previous estimate by the Food and Agriculture Organization

The organization indicated that the low readings of cereals, meat and dairy products in November were offset by the rise in vegetable oil and sugar prices.

The extension of a UN-brokered agreement to export grain from Ukraine for another 120 days last month eased concerns about the war disrupting the huge trade across the Black Sea.

The small drop in November means the FAO Food Price Index is now only 0.3 percent higher than a year ago, the organization said.

In separate estimates of cereal supply and demand, the FAO lowered its forecast for global cereal production in 2022 to 2.756 billion tonnes from last month’s estimate of 2.764 billion tonnes.

The FAO said the forecast is 2 percent lower than the estimated production for 2021, which would be the lowest level in three years.