World food prices fell for the ninth month in a row in December, despite reaching their highest level on record for the entire year in 2022, according to UN data released Friday.
Food prices reached a monthly high in March after Russia invaded agricultural powerhouse Ukraine, a major supplier of wheat and cooking oil to the rest of the world.
A Russian naval blockade of Ukrainian grain exports was lifted in July after a deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, its price index, which tracks the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities, fell to 132.4 points in December, a 1.9 percent decrease from November.
It was also 1% lower than in December 2021.
However, the index was 14.3 percent higher overall in 2022 than the previous year, reaching an all-time high of 143.7 points.
“Calmer food commodity prices are welcome after two very volatile years,” FAO chief economist Maximo Torero said in a statement. It is important to remain vigilant and keep a strong focus on mitigating global food insecurity given that world food prices remain at elevated levels,” AO chief economist Maximo Torero said in a statement.
Torero said many staples are near record highs, with prices of rice rising and “still many risks associated with future supplies”.
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