|
The
Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) food price index,
which tracks international prices of the most globally traded
food commodities, averaged 143.7 points in 2022, up 14.3% from
2021, and the highest since records started in 1990, the agency
said on Friday.
The index had already gained 28% in 2021 from the previous year
as the world economy recovered from the impact of the pandemic.
Food prices surged after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in
February last year on fears of disruptions to Black Sea trade.
They have pared some of their gains since, in part because of a
U.N.-backed grain export channel from Ukraine and the prospect
of improved supplies in producing countries.
In December the benchmark index fell for the ninth consecutive
month to 132.4 points, compared with a revised 135.00 points for
November. The November figure was previously given as 135.7
points.
"Calmer food commodity prices are welcome after two very
volatile years," FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero said.
The decline in the index in December was driven by a drop in the
international price of vegetable oils, together with some
declines in cereal and meat prices, but mitigated by slight
increases in those of sugar and dairy, the FAO said.
Still over the whole of 2022, four of the FAO's five food
sub-indexes - cereals, meat, dairy and vegetable oils - had
reached record highs, while the fifth one, sugar, was at a
10-year high.
The FAO Cereal Price Index index rose 17.9% in 2022 due to
factors including significant market disruptions, higher energy
and input costs, adverse weather and continued strong global
food demand, the FAO said.
(Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide; editing by Barbara Lewis)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
