FAO: World food prices decline again in December

The major component in the Rome-based FAO index, cereals, saw its price fall by 1.3 percent, driven by lower wheat and maize quotations. Rice prices were largely unchanged compared to November.

Dairy prices declined 1 percent, while meat prices fell by 2.2 percent due to increased pig meat production in Europe and reduced import demand for bovine meat from the United States.

The declines were partly offset by a 2.1 percent increase in the index of vegetable oils and a 0.6 percent rise in sugar prices.

The index was down 19.1 percent at the end of 2015 compared to a year earlier, FAO said. Prices fell in 10 of the 12 months during the year.

Every commodity group saw prices decline in 2015: cereals ended the year 15.4 percent lower, dairy prices dropped 28.5 percent, while meat prices averaged 15.1 lower in 2015, vegetable oils fell by 19 percent and sugar prices declined 21 percent.

"Ample supplies in the face of slackening global demand and a strengthening US dollar were the main factors behind the general weakness that dominated food prices," Abdolreza Abbassian, a senior FAO economist, said in a statement, as quoted by Xinhua.

The next update of FAO's index, which is based on the prices of 55 internationally traded food commodities from five major food groups, is expected on 4 February.   (Uu.A026)