Global food prices continue to decline
Global food prices were falling for the fourth year in a row as the weakening world economy sent ripples in commodity markets, including the power and mining sectors, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The FAO said in the latest update of Food Price Index report that in 2015, prices of five major food groups averaged 19 percent lower than year-ago levels.
The index is trade-weighted and tracks prices of five major food commodity groups in international markets, including meat, dairy, cereals, vegetable oils and sugar.
In 2015, prices of these food groups registered a full-year average of 164 points. In December alone, prices were lower than the average at 154 points. The December average was lower than the 155.6 points recorded in November.
The FAO said last month’s average eased along with falling prices of meat, dairy and cereals. The rise in prices of sugar and vegetable oils failed to push up the average.
“Abundant supplies in the face of a timid world demand and an appreciating dollar are the main reason for the general weakness that dominated food prices in 2015,” FAO senior economist Abdolreza Abbassian said in a statement.
Also last month, the FAO called for further measures meant to create fairer global trading conditions, particularly for developing countries, even as the World Trade Organization (WTO) decided to scrap farm export subsidies.
FAO Director General José Graziano da Silva said there remained the need for a framework in which countries could balance efforts to attain national food security and development objectives without harming their trading partners.
“The continued uncertainty on how to negotiate such a framework is worrying in a world in which global agricultural trade is likely to grow in importance in the coming decades as patterns of consumption and production continue to evolve,” Graziano da Silva said in a statement.
“The process of opening further to trade, and its consequences, will need to be well managed if trade is to improve food security,” the FAO chief said.
