Global Food Prices Reached Record Highs in 2022

Global food prices fell in December for the ninth month in a row, but nevertheless rose 14 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year to record levels, the World Food Organization (FAO) reported to the United Nations, cited by "Reuters".

The FAO index, which tracks international prices of the most traded foods, fell to 132.4 points in December from a revised 135 points in November.

For all of 2022, however, the index is at 143.7 points, 18 points or 14.3 percent above the 2021 level, the highest level since 1990, when this measurement began.

The decline in December was caused by a serious reduction in the prices of vegetable oils, as well as some decline in the prices of cereals and meat, offset by a rise in the prices of sugar and dairy products, the FAO said.

Global food prices spiked amid the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, but calmed over the summer after a transport corridor for food exports from Ukraine via the Black Sea was negotiated.