Global food prices dipped by 1.0 per cent in October after rising 1.4 per cent in September, due to a drop in the price of cereals and oils, the UN Food and Agricultural Organization said Thursday. The FAO's Food Price Index, a monthly measure of changes in a basket of food commodities, dropped 3 points to 259 points in October. FAO said that global cereal prices have declined in recent months, with th Cereal Price Indexregistering an 11-month-low of 232 points in October. Prices, on average, however remain 5 per cent higher than last year's already high level. The agency added that recent floods and their impact on Thailand's rice production has had limited consequences on the global market thanks to large reserves. Also, large global supplies of sugar have put downward pressure on sugar prices since June. Improved supplies also weighed on dairy markets while strong palm oil output and record sunflower seed crops have driven prices down in the oils sector in recent months.
