Following the trend of recent months, the FAO Food Price Index for December averaged 118.5 points, down 1.5 percent from November and down 10.1 percent year-over-year.

The FAO meat price dropped 1.0 percent from November mainly due to lower demand for pork from Asia.  Other components of the FAO Food Price Index included Vegetable Oil that declined by 1.4 percent from November.  The Sugar Index was down 16.6 percent from the previous month. 

In contrast, the Dairy Price Index was up by 1.6 percent although it was 16.1 percent below December 2022.  The Cereal Price Index was higher by 1.5 percent from November mainly due to disruptions in shipments from exporting nations although the index was 15.4 percent below the 2022 average.  Rice soared in price, with a 21 percent increase in the Index mainly due to export restrictions imposed by India and lower yields in Asia and Africa due to the strong El Nino event.