FAO: World food prices fell in June to lowest level in more than ‎two years

The global price index of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations fell in June to its lowest level in more than two years, driven by lower costs for sugar, vegetable oils, cereals and dairy products.

According to Reuters, the organization said today, Friday, that its index, which tracks the prices of the most traded food commodities globally, averaged 122.3 points in June, compared to 124.0 points after adjustment in the previous month.

The May reading was originally 124.3.

The June reading is the lowest since April 2021, which means that the index is now 23.4 percent below the highest level it reached in March 2022 after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In a separate report on cereal supply and demand, FAO expected global cereal production this year to reach 2.819 billion tons, up slightly from last month’s estimates and up 1.1 percent from 2022 levels.

FAO said the higher expectations were driven almost entirely by better prospects for global wheat production, as forecasts rose 0.9 percent to 783.3 million tonnes.

The Cereal Price Index fell 2.1 percent in June from the previous month, with declines in maize, barley, sorghum, wheat and rice.

The vegetable oil price index fell 2.4 percent month-on-month, its lowest level since November 2020, driven by lower global prices for palm and sunflower oils.

FAO said the sugar price index fell 3.2 percent from May, its first drop after four consecutive monthly increases, mainly due to an improvement in the sugar cane crop in Brazil and slowing global import demand.

The dairy price index declined by 0.8 percent compared to May, while the meat index remained unchanged.