Global food prices at 5-year low even as Indians see inflation

Global food prices fell to a nearly five-year low in February this year on increased supply of key food items and a strong US dollar, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Though these stats will bring little cheer to Indian households constantly struggling with high food inflation, the FAO price index shows that food prices averaged at 179.4 points in February, down from 181.2 points in January and 208.6 points in February 2014.

The FAO Food Price Index is a trade-weighted index that tracks prices of five major food commodity groups on international markets. It aggregates price sub-indices of cereals, meat, dairy products, vegetable oils and sugar.

''Food Price Index declined to a 55-month low in February, dropping 1.0 per cent from January and 14 per cent below its level a year earlier,'' FAO said in a statement.

The index at its lowest level since July 2010, reflecting robust supply conditions as well as ongoing weakness in many currencies versus the US dollar, said Michael Griffin, FAO's dairy and livestock market expert.

''The first thing to flag is the favourable outlook for production of a number of crops in 2015,'' Griffin said. ''Stocks are also very strong'' for most cereals, he added.

According to FAO, international sugar prices fell by 4.9 per cent, and cereal prices were down by 3.2 per cent and meat prices declined by 1.4 per cent in February from the January levels.

However, international prices of dairy products and vegetable oil increased by 4.6 per cent and 0.4 per cent in February from the January levels.

Source:UN Food and Agriculture Organisation

Source:UN Food and Agriculture Organisation

Source:UN Food and Agriculture Organisation