PARIS, France (AFP) — World food commodity prices declined by 2.1 per cent in 2024 compared to the previous year, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Friday, but they remain considerably higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The United Nations (UN) FAO’s overall Food Price Index averaged 122.0 points — 2.6 points or 2.1 per cent lower than the average value in 2023.

However, food prices increased over the course of the year, with the index climbing from 117.6 points in January to 127.0 in December.

The index rose 6.7 per cent from December 2023 to 2024, with meat, dairy and food oils accounting for the increase.

The United Nations’ food agency tracks monthly and global changes in the international prices of a set of globally traded commodities.

Food prices also remain considerably higher — roughly 26 per cent — than they were five years ago.

The disruption to global trade during the COVID-19 pandemic initially saw food prices dip but they later climbed higher amid the surge in inflation as the global economy rebounded.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sent them spiking to records, since both nations are major wheat exporters, but efforts to ensure shipments were not blocked led to prices easing lower until the beginning of 2024.

The dip in the average value for the index between 2023 and 2024 was mainly due to falls in cereals and sugar prices.

Cereals dropped 13.3 compared to 2023 and the FAO’s sugar price index fell 13.2 per cent.

The decreases were offset in part by a 9.4 per cent rise in the vegetable oil price index.