International food prices remain steady, but food accessibility for all is not guaranteed

At a press briefing today from New York, journalists heard from Upali Galketi Aratchilage, FAO Senior Economist, who spoke on the Food Price Index update for October and its implications for world food commodity markets ahead.

The FAO Food Price Index, the gauge for world food commodity prices, remained broadly stable in October, on the heels of an all-time high reached in March 2022, with rising cereal prices more than offset by declines in quotations for other food commodities comprising the index.

The FAO Food Price Index tracks monthly changes in world prices of five major food commodity groups – cereals, vegetable oils, meat, dairy products and sugar. It averaged 135.9 points in October, down negligibly below its September level. With this new decline in October, the Food Price Index is down 14.9 percent from its peak in March of this year. However, it remains 2 percent above its value from this time last year.

Connecting virtually at a press briefing in the United Nations in New York, organized by the Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General, was FAO Senior Economist, Upali Galketi Aratchilage, who briefed on the latest trends and forecasts.

Concerns over food accessibility remain

Aratchilage explained that even though we have seen an overall downward trend in the FAO Food Price Index since its all-time high in the early months of 2022, this has not necessarily been translating into increased food accessibility across the world, especially in low-income countries. The factors contributing to this continue to be manifold – weather extremes, high and volatile energy and fertilizer prices, labour shortages, and animal diseases. 

Many countries with limited fiscal space, in particular net food-importing developing countries, still face challenges in sustaining their food production, in addition to ensuring their food and agricultural input import needs, Aratchilage remarked.

World prices of energy and gas remain high, reducing fertilizer affordability and increasing production costs. In addition to adding a serious challenge to production in 2022/23. Farmers may therefore plant less or obtain lower yields due to the unaffordability of agricultural inputs, especially fertilizers. Overall market stability is therefore not guaranteed, even as international food prices continue their recent downward trend. 

As highlighted in recent FAO updates on international food prices, what we have had this year is a food access crisis and not a food availability crisis, despite the war in Ukraine.

A positive response has been the recent approval by the Board of the International Monetary Fund of a food shock window response instrument. It builds on FAO’s proposal for a Food Import Financing Facility to support the most vulnerable countries facing rising food import bills. 

Related links

• Did you miss the press briefing? Watch the recording.
• Read more about the FAO Food Prince Index here and follow latest related updates from the Agricultural Market Information Systems (AMIS).