Global food commodity prices fell by 2.1% in 2024 compared to the previous year, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported on Friday.
However, prices remain substantially higher than pre-COVID-19 levels.
The FAO’s Food Price Index averaged 122.0 points in 2024, down 2.6 points, or 2.1%, from 2023. Despite this annual decline, food prices climbed during 2024, rising from 117.6 points in January to 127.0 in December—a 6.7% increase driven by higher costs for meat, dairy, and vegetable oils.
The FAO monitors monthly global changes in the prices of widely traded food commodities. While prices dipped slightly year-on-year, they remain about 26% above levels recorded five years ago. Initially, global food prices dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic due to trade disruptions but surged later amid global inflation. Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine caused record price spikes, as both nations are key wheat exporters, though shipping efforts stabilized prices until early 2024.
The FAO attributed the 2023–2024 decline in its index largely to significant decreases in cereal and sugar prices. Cereal prices dropped 13.3%, while the Sugar Price Index fell 13.2%. These declines were partially offset by a 9.4% rise in the Vegetable Oil Price Index.
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