World food prices fell slightly in February for the 11th consecutive month, despite sugar prices reaching their highest level in six years, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) announced on Friday. .
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks the evolution of international prices for a basket of basic products, fell 0.6% from its January level, widening the gap a little more (-18.7% ) with the record reached in March 2022 after the start of the war in Ukraine. Although this index “has fallen somewhat in recent months, food price inflation has reached prohibitive levels in many countries”, particularly in Africa, recalls the FAO.
Slight rise in the price of wheat
A general drop in prices for vegetable oil by 3.2% – from palm to rapeseed to sunflower – and dairy products by 2.7% more than offset a sharp rise in world sugar prices in February , emphasizes the organization. The latter rose 6.9% to its “highest level in six years, mainly due to a downward revision of the 2022/23 production forecast in India, and a decline in international crude oil and ethanol prices in Brazil.” “.
Grain prices, already stable last month, were “virtually unchanged” compared to January. The price of wheat rises slightly due to concerns about the drought in the United States, but “strong competition among exporting countries”, which, like Russia, have abundant supplies, tempers this rise. The FAO has also released its forecast for global wheat production in 2023. The UN agency forecasts a harvest of around 784 million tonnes, which would be the second largest ever recorded, thanks in particular to US farmers who have expanded their areas, encouraged by rising grain prices.
Source: BFM TV
