FAO: International Food Prices Continue to Decline for Eleventh Month in Row

Food prices in the world recorded a slight decline last February for the eleventh month in a row, despite sugar prices reaching their highest levels in six years, as announced by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Friday.

The organization said its index, which tracks prices of the world's most traded primary food commodities, averaged 129.8 points last month, down from 130.6 in January. This is the lowest reading of the index since September 2021. Thus, prices have declined in total by 18.7 percent from the record level they recorded in March 2022 after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The "FAO" stated that although the index "has declined slightly in recent months, food inflation has reached very high levels in many countries,", especially in Africa. The organization pointed out that the overall decline in the prices of vegetable oils by 3.2 percent and dairy products by 2.7 percent compensated adequately in February for the sharp rise in sugar prices in the world.