World food prices drop 7% in 2012 – FAO

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) January 10, 2013 reported a 7% decline in world food prices for the year 2012.

According to the UN agency, its 2012 food price index averaged 212, that is, 7% less than in 2011.

“For 2012 as a whole, the Index averaged 212, that is, 7.0% less than in 2011, with the sharpest falls year-on-year registered by sugar (17.1%), dairy products (14.5%) and oils (10.7%), the FAO said adding that “price declines were much more modest for cereals (2.4%) and meat (1.1%).”

The index dropped for the third consecutive month in December 2012, edging down 1.1% which the FAO says was led by “drops in the international prices of major cereals and oils and fats”.

“The result marks a reversal from the situation last July, when sharply rising prices prompted fears of a new food crisis,” said Jomo Sundaram, Assistant Director-General in charge of FAO’s Economic and Social Development Department.

“But international coordination, including through the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS), as well as flagging demand in a stagnant international economy, helped ensure the price spike was short-lived and calmed markets so that 2012 prices ended up below the previous year’s levels,” Sundaram noted.

The index’s previous low in 2012 was in June, at 200 points.

By Ekow Quandzie