Just don’t laugh: food prices have been falling for the tenth month in a row

Have you been to a Greek supermarket for a long time? It turns out that the price tags in our stores are far from reality – after all, world food prices continue to decline, and even for the tenth month in a row, as evidenced by UN data.

In January, the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) Food Price Index stood at 131.2 points, down 1.1 points or 0.8% from the December level. The organization notes that, given the decline over the past month, the index value fell by 28.6 points (17.9%) compared to the peak level reached in March 2022 (and what about the impact on prices of the war, because it only began in February 2022?).

The decrease in the index in January was due to a decrease in prices for vegetable oils, dairy products and sugar against the backdrop of stable prices for grain and meat. The grain price index averaged 147.4 points, up 0.1% from December and 6.7 points (4.8%) from January 2022. Prices for rice and corn rose, while those for barley and wheat fell. FAO notes:

“International wheat prices are on a downward trend for the third month in a row: they fell 2.5% in January due to increased supply in world markets, as production volumes in Australia and the Russian Federation were higher than previously forecast.”

The price index for vegetable oils amounted to 140.4 points, which is 4.2 points (2.9%) lower than its December values ​​and almost 25% lower than last year. The decline in prices was the result of a reduction in world prices for palm, soybean, sunflower and rapeseed oils.

The price index for dairy products, compared with December, decreased by 2.0 points (1.4%), to 136.2 points. In January, prices for dairy products reached the lowest level over the past year. This is due to the reduction in world prices for creamy and powdered milk (this is not observed in Greek supermarkets …).

Meat prices decreased by 0.1 points or 0.1% to 113.6 points compared to December levels, but remain 1.3% higher than January 2022. Sugar fell in price by 1.3 points or 1.1% – the index amounted to 115.8 points – this is the first decrease in the value of this indicator after a sharp increase in the previous two months. The organization explains:

“The decline in international sugar quotations in January was mainly due to a good harvest in Thailand and favorable weather conditions in key sugar cane growing areas in Brazil.”

Reference export quotations for various types of food and national retail and wholesale food prices can be found at site FAO.

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