The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) food price index has revealed that world food prices fell slightly in December 2021 by 0.9 per cent, noting that the price is still up 23.1 per cent from December 2020.

According to FAO, prices for vegetable oils and sugar fell significantly from lofty levels, as its Vegetable Oil Price Index declined 3.3 per cent in December, with weaker quotations for palm oil and sunflower oil reflecting subdued global import demand that may be linked to concerns over the impact of rising Covid-19 cases.

However, the story was not the same for Nigeria as food prices continue to increase despite the nation’s inflation rate falling for the eighth consecutive month in November to 15.40 per cent from 15.99 per cent recorded in October 2021.

The Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) office also said the prices of goods and services, measured by the Consumer Price Index, increased by 15.40 per cent (year-on-year) in November 2021.

The FAO Food Price Index averaged 133.7 points in December, 2021, saying that for 2021 as a whole, averaging across the entire year, the Food Price Index averaged 125.7 points, as much as 28.1 percent above the previous year.