| » The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) averaged 214 points in January 2012, nearly 2 percent (4 points) up from December. The rebound represented the first upturn in the FFPI since July 2011 but the index remained 7 percent below its corresponding value last year. In January, prices of all the commodity groups that compose the Index registered gains, with oils increasing the most, followed closely by cereals, sugar, dairy and meat.
» The FAO Cereal Price Index averaged 223 points in January, up 2.3 percent (5 points) from December. International prices of all major cereals with the exception of rice rose in January. Coarse grains (maize) registered the steepest gain with prices rising 6 percent in January, mostly driven by a tight global supply and demand balance and concerns over crop prospects in South America. Wheat prices also gained, though less significantly than coarse grains, with the wheat index up 1.5 percent under the influence of rising maize prices, depleting export supplies in the Russian Federation and unfavourable weather in several important growing regions. By contrast, rice prices remained on a downward trend, with the rice index shedding 3 percent from December, driven by seasonal harvest pressure and stiff competition for market shares among exporters.
» The FAO Oils/Fats Price Index rose to 234 points in January, up 3 percent (6 points), from December. The index remains high in historical terms although below the corresponding value recorded one year ago. Firming import demand for palm and soy oil, combined with a seasonal decline in palm oil production and the prospect of below average export availabilities of soy oil were the main driving forces behind the recovery in the index.
» The FAO Meat Price Index averaged 179 points in January, half a percent (1 point) above its December value. Prices of the various meat types followed mixed directions: pig meat was up by 2.8 percent, on expectations of strong imports by China, but poultry dropped by one percent, influenced by the strength of the US dollar against some major exporters' currencies, in particular Brazil. Bovine meat quotations remained stable at relatively high levels, a sign of lingering supply tightness, while favourable production prospects in Oceania kept prices of sheep meat under downward pressure.
» The FAO Dairy Price Index averaged 207 points in January 2012, up 2.5 percent (5 points) from December, when prices initiated an upturn after five months of steady declines. A rebounding of butter and cheese prices are behind this month's strength, as prices of both skim and whole milk powder were steady or slightly down. Relatively low stocks of dairy products in the United States along with supply tightness in Oceania have sustained prices in the past two months.
» The FAO Sugar Price Index rose to 334 points in January, up 2.3 percent (7.4 points) from December, but still 20 percent (86 points) lower than in January last year. Last month's increase was largely driven by less than favourable weather conditions in Brazil, the world's largest producer and exporter of sugar, on fears that it might delay harvest and cut total production. On the other hand, large production harvests in India, the EU, Thailand and the Russian Federation contained the recent price increase.
Go to Global Food Price Monitor, for details on domestic food price developments. |
