Global food prices dipped in February for a 11th consecutive month, and is now down 19% from a record high hit in March 2022, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced on Friday.
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly-traded food commodities, averaged 129.8 points last month, 0.6 percent lower than January.
The fall was due to a significant drops in the price indices of vegetable oils and dairy, which more than offset a surge in the sugar price index, according to the FAO.
The Vegetable Oil Price Index fell by 3.2 percent and dairy index by 2.7 percent, while sugar price rose by 6.9 percent to a six-year high due largely to a downward revision to production in India.
The price indices for cereal and meat remained almost unchanged.
In a separate report on cereals supply and demand, the FAO issued a first preliminary forecast for global wheat production in 2023, with a year-on-year decline to 784 million tonnes. But this crop production would still be the second highest on record.