Benchmark international prices fell for 11th straight month, FAO says
Global food prices continue to decline, albeit marginally, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported recently.
The reality is however far away in Morocco where the fall in food prices – the government’s last battle horse – is being done in dribs and drabs, at a pace far too slow in the eyes of many households.
It must be said that despite the initiatives announced to stem the spiral of rising prices, inflation remains on everyone’s lips and the rare and timid declines recorded at the level of a few products still do not satisfy Moroccans, in the near future. of fasting.
Recall that the consumer price index rose by 8.9% in January 2023 due to the rise in the index of food products by 16.8% and that of non-food products by 3.9 %, as noted last February by the High Commission for Planning (HCP).
For non-food products, the variations range from an increase of 0.4% for “Health” to 9.6% for “Transport”, added the public institution in its information note relating to the consumer price index (CPI) for the month of January 2023.
Be that as it may, and according to the Rome-based UN agency, in February 2023 the benchmark international food price index fell for the eleventh consecutive month.
Averaging 129.8 points last month, the FAO food price index recorded a moderate drop of 0.6% compared to January. It thus displays a level 18.7% lower than the peak it reached in March 2022, underlines the FAO in a press release.
According to the specialized organization of the United Nations system, created in 1945 in Quebec, “the decline in the index is explained by the fall in the prices of vegetable oils and dairy products, which more than offset the sharp rise sugar prices.
In detail, the data collected show that the FAO cereal price index remained more or less stable compared to January.
As the agency points out, “international wheat prices rose slightly during the month, as strong competition among exporting countries offset fears of dry weather in the United States of America and high Australia’s request”.
Following the slowdown in trade activity seen in most of Asia’s major exporting countries, international rice prices fell by 1 percent over the same period, she noted.
Commenting on the evolution of the FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index, the FAO points out that world prices for palm, soybean, sunflower and rapeseed oils all fell during the second month of the year. As a result, the index lost 3.2% compared to January.
As for the FAO Dairy Price Index, data suggests it fell 2.7% during the month, with the biggest declines in butter and skimmed milk powder. .
As for the FAO meat price index, the UN agency announces that it posted almost the same level as in the first month of the current year.
According to his analysis, despite outbreaks of avian influenza in several major producing countries, “world poultry prices have continued to decline amid abundant export supplies, while international pigmeat prices have progressed, mainly due to fears about tight export supplies in Europe”.
Finally, note that the FAO sugar price index jumped 6.9% compared to January, reaching its highest level in six years. A development that comes following the downward revision to India’s production forecast for 2022-2023, as well as the drop in international oil and ethanol prices in Brazil, according to the explanations of the organization.
Alain Bouithy