2023 ends with a decline in world food prices - FAO

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Food Price Index , for 2023 as a whole, the index was 13.7% below the 2022 average, when prices of certain products, including grains, peaked.

As noted, over the past year only the international SUGAR price index was higher , but in December last year the sharpest drop in international quotations of this product occurred.

At the same time, the FAO grain price index increased by 1.5% compared to November. Rising prices for wheat, corn, rice and barley partly reflect logistics disruptions that have hampered supplies from major exporting countries. For the year as a whole, the grain index was 15.4% below the 2022 average, reflecting the good supply of global markets, the statement said.

The only exception was for rice, which rose 21%, mainly due to concerns about the impact of the El Niño storm on production and the impact of EXPORT restrictions imposed by India.