The benchmark index for global food prices continued to decrease in June, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly traded food commodities, averaged 122.3 points in June, down 1.4% from May and 23% from its peak in March 2022.
The latest drop was driven by price decreases for all major cereals and most types of vegetable oils.
FAO
The latest data shows that the FAO Cereal Price Index was down by 2.1% compared to May.
International coarse grain quotations in June decreased by 3.4%, mainly due to increased maize supplies from Argentina and Brazil, along with improved output prospects from the US.
Wheat prices fell by 1.3% as harvests got underway in the northern hemisphere.
The Vegetable Oil Price Index dropped 2.4% as lower palm and sunflower oil prices offset increases in quotations for soya and rapeseed oil.
The FAO Meat Price Index was virtually unchanged in June, with poultry meat prices rising on the back of high import demand from Asia.
International pigmeat prices also rose, while those of bovine and ovine meats dipped due to increased exportable availabilities from Oceania.
The Dairy Price Index declined by 0.8% in June, led by lower international cheese prices, despite world butter prices increasing.
The price index for sugar fell by 3.2%, its first drop after four consecutive monthly increases.
Cereal production
The FAO also said that world cereal production is predicted to hit a record high in the 2023/24 season.
The organisation raised its 2023 global cereal production forecast to 2,819 million tonnes, which would be a 1.1% increase from the previous year.
The forecast reflects better prospects for global wheat production expected to hit 783.3 million tonnes.
However, global wheat production is still predicted to fall below last season’s output by 2.3%.
Global coarse grain output for the year is now forecast to grow by 2.9% from 2022 to 1,512 million tonnes.