FAO: Food price index down for 6th month in September

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) food price index declined for the sixth consecutive month in September, falling from an all-time high hit earlier in the year in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

According to “Reuters”, the FAO said on Friday that its index, which tracks the prices of the most traded food commodities in the world, averaged 136.3 points last month, compared to a revised level of 137.9 points in August.

Previously, the August number was 138.0.

The index fell from a record high of 159.7 in March. However, the September reading is 5.5 percent higher than a year ago.

The recent decline was driven by a 6.6 percent month-on-month decline in vegetable oil prices, and increased supplies and a decline in oil prices contributed to the decline.

Prices of sugar, dairy products and meat also fell by less than one percentage point, easing inflationary pressures.

By contrast, the FAO Cereal Price Index rose 1.5 percent month-on-month in September, with wheat prices increasing 2.2 percent due to concerns about drought conditions in Argentina and the United States, strong EU exports and increased uncertainty surrounding the use of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports after November.

Rice prices rose 2.2%, partly due to concerns about the impact of the recent massive floods that swept Pakistan.

In separate estimates of cereal supply and demand, FAO lowered its forecast for world cereal production in 2022 to 2.768 billion tons from 2.774 billion previously.