According to the FAO, food products, which have been in decline for the past three months, fell by a further 3.4% in April. The decline is 10% compared to January. The reason is obviously the Covid 19 pandemic and the logistical disruptions it caused. Here are the figures for the main products:
– Sugar: At its lowest level in 13 years, it lost 14.6% in April. The reason is the drop in demand for sugar cane to produce ethanol due to the sharp drop in the price of a barrel of oil.
– Vegetable oils: down 5.2%, mainly due to palm, soybean and rapeseed oils, causing a drop in demand for bio-fuels.
– Dairy products: drop of 3.6%, mainly butter; due to the increase in stocks and the drop in demand.
– Meat: 2.7% decrease due to a double shock of supply and demand.
– Cereals: the price of coarse grains fell by 10% as a result of the fall in demand for animal feed and the drop in demand for biofuels. The price of rice, on the other hand, rose by 7.2% and that of wheat by 2.5% due to the export restrictions adopted by some countries (Russia, Vietnam…).
Source : FAO
