Global food commodity prices were 10% lower in December 2023 compared to 12 months earlier, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations (UN).
The FAO Food Price Index tracks monthly changes in prices of a set of globally traded food commodities.
The index averaged 118.5 points for last month, down 1.5% from November and down 10.1% from December 2022.
For 2023 as a whole, the index was 13.7% lower than the average value throughout the previous year.
The FAO Cereal Price Index increased 1.5% from November, as wheat, maize, rice, and barely prices all rose, partly reflecting logistical disruptions that hindered shipments from major exporting countries.
For 2022 as a whole, the cereal index was 15.4% below the 2022 average, reflecting well supplied global markets, although the rice index (part of the cereal index) bucked that trend with an increase of 21%, based on a number of factors, including export restrictions imposed by India.
The FAO Meat Price Index dipped 1% from November, and fell 1.8% from November, impacted by persistent weak import demand from Asia for pigmeat.
Regional buying interest also slowed for beef and poultry, despite ample exportable supplies in large producing regions. However, sheepmeat prices rose ahead of the Christmas period.
The FAO Dairy Price Index increased by 1.6% in December from November, although even this increase left the index 16.1% below its value in December 2022.
The monthly increase from November to December was led by higher price quotations for butter and cheese, underpinned by strong internal sales in western Europe ahead of Christmas.
At the same time, strong global import demand led international whole milk powders to rise.
Dairy commodity price
In other recent commodity price developments, the latest Global Dairy Trade (GDT) index saw an increase of 1.2% after the most recent trading event this week.
The GDT index now stands at 1,038, after a third consecutive increase. This week’s index follows a 2.3% increase recorded at the final trading event of 2023.
A total quantity of 26,206MT was sold, at an average price of $3,363/MT.