Xinhua, Rome :
World food prices dropped for the seventh consecutive month in October, their longest decline in nearly two decades, though the latest dip was small and UN Food and Agriculture Organization officials said prices were stabilizing.
The overall index fell just 0.2 percent in October, with the overall Food Price Index averaging 192.3 points for the month. Overall, the index is at its lowest point since August 2010, and the seven straight months of decline is the longest such stretch since the mid-1990s.
Prices for cereals and grains were stable for the month, with a continued drop in rice prices offsetting slight rises in world prices for wheat and corn. Rice prices are falling in the wake of near record harvests in Asia.
Dairy prices, meanwhile, fell 1.9 percent because of strong production in Europe, and meat prices were 1.1 percent lower, as beef prices were pushed down by strong production in Australia.
But sugar prices rose 4.2 percent because of dry conditions in Brazil, and prices for oils and fats climbed 1.6 percent because of lower palm oil production in Indonesia and Malaysia.
It was the first time two of the five commodity groups saw prices rise in the same month since March.
The next installment of the FAO index, which is based on a basket of 55 goods and 73 price quotations in five major food commodity groups, will be released will be released Dec. 4.
