In December, the average value of the FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index fell to its lowest level since February 2021 – to 144.4 points, which is 4.7% lower than last month, the press service of the organization reported.
“This decline in the index in December was due to the fall in world quotations of palm, soybean, rapeseed and sunflower oils. In addition, the decline was facilitated by the fall in crude oil prices,” experts say.
Last month, global palm oil prices fell nearly 5% by November amid sluggish global import demand.
World quotations of soybean oil sagged due to positive forecasts of seasonal production growth in South America.
At the same time, prices for rapeseed and sunflower oil continued to decline for the second month in a row, which is explained by a large volume of supply and, accordingly, weak import demand, especially from the countries of the European Union.
“At the end of 2022, the FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index averaged 187.8 points, 13.9% higher than in 2021 and the highest annual average,” FAO concluded.