ROME, March 5 (Xinhua) -- World food prices fell slightly in February, reversing a trend dating back four months, according to information released Thursday by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Before February, the overall index climbed in every month since October of last year.
The overall index fell 1 percent in February compared to January's prices when they reached their highest levels since 2015, though it remained more than 8 percent above levels from February 2019.
The biggest mover in the index was the sub-index for vegetable oils, which fell 10.3 percent compared to January. Lower palm oil prices were the main culprit in the fall, FAO said.
Prices for grains and cereals -- the largest component in the index -- slipped 0.9 percent, as falling demand for wheat and corn offset small gains in rice prices.
Meat prices fell 2 percent, mostly owing to a slowdown in demand from China, FAO said.
Dairy and sugar prices both bucked the trend in February, up 4.6 percent and 4.5 percent respectively.
FAO said the impacts from the spread of the coronavirus had not yet had a significant effect on food prices in February.
The monthly FAO Food Price Index is based on worldwide prices for 23 food commodity categories covering prices for 73 different products compared to a baseline year.
