World food prices fell in February after 4 months of continuos growth
The Febuary drop in demand for food was caused by new coronavirus epidemic.
In February, food prices dropped around 1% year-on-year. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) measures the price index in so called commodity basket, which consists of cereals, vegetable oils, dairy, meat and sugar. Vegetable oil prices experience the largest decline with 10.3% from the previous month. On the contrary, dairy price index grew in 4,6%, especially due to decreasing exports from New Zealand and Australia.
The drop in world food prices was mainly affected by new coronavirus epidemic, which caused drop in demand for food and agricultural products. According to FAO, coronavirus had direct impact on meat price, which dropped in 2% compared to its price in February.
Moreover, FAO increased its forecast on cereal production this year. Last year, 2 719 billion tons of cereals were globally traded, which was 2,3% less then in 2018. The FAO predicts this year’s increase to be slightly lower.
