Global food prices rose
slightly in December after staying flat in November, but prices on the average declined 1.6 per cent in 2013 compared with 2012, the UN said.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said last Thursday that the price index, which measures monthly price changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar, averaged 206.7 points in December.
It stated that the December figure was a marginal rise from a revised 206.4 in November.
The FAO noted that large supplies pushed down international prices of oils, sugar and cereals, except for rice.
It indicated that the decrease in prices in those markets was balanced by an opposite trend in meat and dairy, which hit records in 2013.
The FAO Senior Economist, Abdolreza Abbassian, told Reuters that he saw ample supply and good opportunities for rebuilding inventories likely to continue to weigh on cereals prices for the next few months.
“This situation is likely to keep some downward pressure on the grain sector for still some months to come,” Abbassian said.
The economist said that the demand-driven increases in higher meat and dairy prices could taper with the prices.
He added that “considering how high they are, perhaps the scope for stronger increases in the next few months are much less than in the last few months.’’
Abbassian said record harvests drove down cereals prices particularly in wheat and maize over 2013, and the average cereals price index for December was 191.5 points, its lowest since August 2010.
Meanwhile, the dairy price index averaged 243 in 2013, its highest annual average ever.
Demand from Japan and China drove up beef in particular, and the meat index was at historically high levels in 2013.