Paris, February 02 (QNA) - The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) index of world food prices fell in January to its lowest levels in nearly three years, driven by a decline in the prices of some types of grains and meat prices.

The FAO stated, in its monthly report issued Friday, that its price index, which measures changes in the prices of the most widely traded primary food commodities globally, recorded an average of 118 points in January, compared to 119.1 in the previous month, pointing out that the January reading is the lowest since February of the year 2021.

The organization said that global wheat export prices decreased in January due to strong competition between exporters and the arrival of recently harvested supplies to the countries of the Southern Hemisphere, noting that corn prices decreased significantly, in a reflection of improved crop conditions, the start of the harvest in Argentina, and increased supplies in the United States.

It added that the meat price index fell for the seventh consecutive month, attributing this to an abundance of supplies from major meat exporting countries poultry and cattle.

FAO noted that global grain production in 2023 reached an all-time high of 2.836 billion tonnes, up 1.2 percent from 2022, while global production of coarse grains, or grains other than wheat and rice, reached an all-time high of 1.523 billion tonnes, after adjusting for an increase of 12 million tonnes this month. (QNA)