Only sugar is getting more and more expensive
Food prices on the world market are falling
4/7/2023 5:33 p.m
Although the level is still high, world market prices for most staple foods are falling continuously. Vegetable oils in particular have become cheaper. However, according to the UN, this relaxation of the world market is not reaching consumers in many countries.
According to the UN, world market prices for food have fallen for the twelfth month in a row, but are still “very high”. In March 2023, they were almost 21 percent lower than in the same month last year, when the effects of the Ukraine war became noticeable, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Compared to February 2023, prices fell by 2.1 percent.
“Ample supply, low import demand and the expansion of the Black Sea Grains Initiative (allowing exports from Ukraine) have contributed to this decline,” the FAO said. The prices for vegetable oils fell by almost 48 percent compared to the previous year due to the existing stocks and lower demand.
While the price of grain fell by 5.6 percent and that of vegetable oils by three percent within a month, the price of sugar rose by 1.5 percent. This means that sugar is as expensive as it was last in 2016, for which the lower production prospects in India, Thailand and China are responsible, the UN organization explained.
Prices are rising in some domestic markets
Wheat prices fell by 7 percent, driven by high production in Australia and better condition of EU-grown wheat, but also by strong supply in Russia and exports from Ukraine across the Black Sea.
The FAO warned that even if prices on the world market fell, they were still very high. FAO chief economist Máximo Torero emphasized that they rose even further in some domestic markets, especially in developing countries. This applies to butter and beef, among other things.