PARIS, Dec 2 – The United Nations Food Agency’s World Price Index fell slightly in November, marking its eighth consecutive monthly drop since the record set in March after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The price index of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which tracks the most traded food products worldwide, reached an average of 135.7 points on last month, below 135.9 in October, as reported by the agency on Friday.
The October figure was unchanged from the previous FAO estimate.
Lower readings for cereals, meat and dairy products in November offset higher prices for vegetable oils and sugar, according to the FAO.
An agreement reached last month to extend a UN-backed grain export channel from Ukraine for another 120 days has eased concerns about large-scale Black Sea trade disruptions caused by the war.
The slight decline in November means the FAO Food Price Index is now just 0.3% above its level a year earlier, according to the agency.
In separate estimates on cereal supply and demand, the FAO lowered its forecast for world cereal production in 2022 to 2,756 million tons, from 2,764 million estimated last month.
The forecast is 2% below the estimated production for 2021 and would mark a minimum of three years, according to the FAO.