The United Nations (U.N.) is reporting that world food prices declined 13% year-over-year in 2023.
The U.N.’s food price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 118.5 points in December 2023, down 1.5% from November and 10.1% from December 2022.
For all of 2023, the food price index dropped 13.7% from year earlier levels, with only sugar prices rising in the last 12 months.
The U.N. said the decrease in food prices was mainly due to increased production in Brazil, along with reduced use of sugarcane for ethanol production in India.
Cereal prices gained 1.5% in December from November, as wheat, maize, rice and barley prices all rose amid constrained shipments from major exporting countries due to wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
For all of last year, cereal prices declined 15.4% from 2022 levels as markets have excess supplies with the exception of rice.
The price of vegetable oil registered the biggest price decline in 2023, falling 32.7% on the year, according to the U.N.’s data.
Meat prices fell only 1.8% last year, while the dairy price index decreased 16.1% from 2022 levels.
