By Giulia Petroni
Food prices fell further in January, when lower prices for cereals and meat more than offset increases in sugar, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said on Friday.
The FAO's food price index, which tracks global prices for a basket of staple foods, averaged 118 points in January, down 1% from December's level and around 10% lower from a year earlier. In December, food prices fell 1.5% from the previous month.
Cereal prices fell 2.2% in January, driven by lower export prices for maize and wheat. Sharp price declines for maize reflected improved crop conditions and the start of harvest in Argentina, as well as large supplies in the U.S., the FAO said. Wheat prices decreased due to strong competition among exporters and the arrival of recently harvested supplies in countries of the southern hemisphere.
Meat prices declined 1.4% in January for the seventh straight month, dragged by strong supplies of poultry, bovine and pig meats from leading exporters.
Sugar prices instead were up 0.8% from December's levels, due concerns over the potential impact of Brazil's dryer-than-normal weather conditions on sugarcane crops that will be harvested in April, as well as unfavorable production outlooks in Thailand and India.
Vegetable oil prices inched 0.1% higher in January due to moderate increases in palm and sunflower seed oil prices, but were still roughly 13% lower than a year earlier, according to the latest FAO report. Dairy prices remained broadly unchanged from December levels, standing almost 18% below their value a year ago.
Write to Giulia Petroni at giulia.petroni@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-02-24 0456ET
