FAO reveals food prices in numbers during 2024

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) revealed on Friday that the prices of basic foodstuffs recorded a decline of 2.1 percent in 2024 compared to the previous year.
It showed that despite this, it is still much higher than it was before the Covid epidemic, while the overall rate of the FAO reached 122.0 points, that is, 2.6 points (2.1 percent) lower than the rate recorded in 2023.

Food prices

But food prices rose over the year, with the index rising from 117.6 points in January to 127.0 in December.
The index rose by 6.7 percent from December 2023 to 2024, with oils used in food contributing to the bulk of the increase.
Food prices are still much higher (about 26 percent) than they were five years ago, and the disruption to global trade during the Covid outbreak led to an initial decline in food prices before they later rose again in light of the high inflation rate with the recovery of the global economy.

The impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on prices

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 led to prices rising to record levels, given that the two countries are among the largest wheat producers.
But efforts to ensure shipments were not disrupted led to a decline in prices until early 2024.
The decline in the index between 2023 and 2024 was mainly due to the decline in grain and sugar prices.

Grain prices

Cereal prices fell by 13.3 percent compared to 2023, while the FAO Sugar Price Index fell by 13.2 percent.
The decline was also partially offset by the 9.4 percent rise in the vegetable oil price index.