According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), global food prices decreased by 1% from September to October. In addition, when comparing food prices from the first ten months of 2012 with the same period last year, prices are, on average, 8% lower. The FAO Food Price Index, published today, measures monthly price changes in a food basket consisting of commodities such as cereals, dairy products and oilseed. Food prices averaged 213 points in October, down two points from September. This is still below the previous price peaks in June 2008 and February 2011, 224 and 238 points respectively. However, prices are still dangerously close to the level of the 2007/2008 food price crisis. FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva remains optimistic: “Despite tight markets, a set of conditions and measures have so far stopped international food prices from spiralling up as they did in 2007/2008 and 2009/2010.” In his opinion, the improved international coordination and market transparency resulting from the G20’s Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) prevented “the worst drought in decades from turning into a food price crisis”. The slight decline in October was mainly triggered by lower international prices of cereals and oils/fats which made up for increased dairy and sugar prices. According to the FAO Food Outlook, a global market report also published today, world cereal production is expected to decrease by 2.7% from last year’s record harvest to an estimated 2.284 billion tonnes. World cereal stocks could drop to 497 million tonnes. The FAO Cereal Price Index reached 259 points in October – a rise of 12% compared to October last year, and only 15 points below the record high of 274 points in April 2008.