According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), world food prices experienced a seventh consecutive monthly decline in February, primarily driven by a decrease in cereal prices despite higher costs for sugar and meat. The FAO Food Price Index decreased by 0.7 percent in February and is down by 10.5 percent compared to the same period last year.

The FAO Food Price Index serves as a measure of commodity market prices, reflecting trends that may take time to manifest in consumer prices. Notably, these prices represent only a fraction of the total cost of processed final products.

Cereal prices alone dropped by five percent during the month and declined by 22.4 percent compared to February of the previous year. This decline was attributed to factors such as expectations of abundant harvests in South America and competitive prices offered by Ukraine, particularly affecting corn prices. Additionally, wheat prices were influenced by robust Russian exports, while rice prices also saw a decrease.

Vegetable oils experienced a significant decline, largely due to ample harvests in South America. However, sugar prices rose by 3.2 percent in February, driven by dry weather conditions in Brazil.

In contrast, the meat index saw a 1.8 percent increase during the month, attributed to disruptions in cattle transportation caused by heavy rains in Australia and growing Chinese demand for pork amid limited supplies in Europe.