World food prices stable for third month in November - FAO

ROME (Reuters) - World food prices were stable for the third consecutive month in November, as higher cereals and vegetable oils prices were counteracted by marked falls in sugar and dairy products, the UN's food agency said on Thursday. The Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) price index, which measures monthly price changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar, averaged 192.6 points in November, barely down from 192.7 in October. The figure was 13 points or 6.4 percent below November 2013. FAO said meat prices in November were stable versus the previous month. Historic high prices for most types of meat raised the meat sub-index 13.3 percent above its corresponding level in 2013. Wheat quotations rose due to less-than-ideal growing conditions in northern Hemisphere countries, while slowdowns in palm oil production in Malaysia and Indonesia drove prices of the oil higher. Increased export availability of dairy products and lower imports from major markets, especially China and Russia, brought dairy prices down 3.4 percent from October and 29 percent lower year-on-year. Sugar dropped 3.2 percent from October, reflecting a return of rainfalls in the world's biggest producer Brazil which reduced concerns about a prolonged drought there. (Reporting by Isla Binnie; editing by James Mackenzie)