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The
Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) price index, which
tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 120.4
points in November, around October's levels which were the
lowest since March 2021.
The November reading marked a 10.7% decline versus last
November.
The FAO cereal price index decreased by 3.0% month-on-month in
November, lead by a sharp fall in maize prices, while those of
wheat declined by 2.4%.
Vegetable oil prices, however, rose 3.4% from October.
"Palm oil prices rebounded more than 6% in November, chiefly
underpinned by more active purchases by leading importing
countries and seasonally lower outputs in major producing
countries," the FAO said in a statement.
The agency's dairy price index rose 2.2% from October, led by
high demand for butter and skimmed milk powder in Northeast
Asia, and increased pre-holiday demand in Western Europe.
Sugar prices rose 1.4% month-on-month in November but averaged
41.1% higher than last November thanks to worsening production
prospects in Thailand and India.
In a separate report on cereal supply and demand, the FAO raised
its forecast for world cereal production this year to a record
2.823 billion metric tons versus 2.819 billion previously -
representing a 0.9% increase from 2022.
"Looking ahead to next season, planting of the 2024 winter wheat
crop is ongoing in the northern hemisphere and, reflecting lower
crop prices, area growth could be limited," said the FAO.
Nevertheless, the agency sees world cereal stocks up 2.7% by the
end of the 2024 season, while the cereal stock-to-use ratio is
forecast at 30.8% in 2023/24, "indicating an overall comfortable
supply level".
(Reporting by Maytaal Angel;Editing by Mark Potter and Emelia
Sithole-Matarise)
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