Global food commodity prices continue to fall, with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) benchmark food price index falling again in February for the 11th consecutive month.

The FAO Food Price Index fell marginally to 129.8 in February – down 0.6 percent on January, but almost 19% down on its peak in March 2022. February’s decline reflected significant falls in the price indices of vegetable oils and dairy, with marginally lower cereals and meat indices. This more than offset the steep rise seen in the sugar index.

Dairy

The FAO Dairy Price Index averaged 131.3 points in February, down almost 3% on January and over 7% lower than February 2022. The decline was driven by lower prices across all dairy products, with the steepest falls in butter and skimmed milk powder (SMP).

A similar decline is seen in the vegetable fats markets, with the FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index averaging 135.9 percent, down over 3% on January.

Cereal

The FAO Cereal Price Index was down marginally in February, and 1.5% above February 2022. Having fallen for three consecutive months, international wheat prices rose marginally in February.

In its latest Cereal Supply and Demand Brief, FAO expects international cereal trade in the 2022/2023 period to decline by 1.8 per cent from last year's record levels.

Despite sustained falls in commodity prices, grocery price inflation continues to soar. February saw a new grocery inflation record high of 16.4% in Ireland. This time last year, grocery price inflation was running at 2.4%.