The benchmark index of international food commodity prices declined in February for the eleventh consecutive month, albeit only marginally, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported today.

The FAO Food Price Index averaged 129.8 points in February, a marginal 0.6-percent decrease from January but 18.7 percent down from its peak in March 2022. The decline in the index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly-traded food commodities, reflected drops in quotations for vegetable oils and dairy products that more than offset a steep rise in sugar prices.

The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index declined 3.2 percent from January, with the world prices of palm, soy, sunflowerseed and rapeseed oils all lower.

The FAO Dairy Price Index declined 2.7 percent during the month, with butter and skim milk powder international quotations registering the steepest decline.

The FAO Meat Price Index also remained almost unchanged from January.

In contrast, the FAO Sugar Price Index rose 6.9 percent from January to its highest level in six years, due largely to a downward revision to the 2022/23 production forecast in India.

Source: Kyrgyz National News Agency