World food commodity prices levelled out in June after three straight months of increases.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported Friday that its Food Price Index averaged 120.6 points last month, unchanged from the revised May figure. The index now sits 2.1% below a year earlier and almost 25% below its March 2022 peak following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The FAO cereal price index was down 3% in June, with the agency citing lower prices for coarse grains, wheat, and rice due in part to improved production prospects in major exporting countries.
On the other hand, the vegetable oil price index increased by 3.1% from May, “buoyed by reviving global import demand for palm oil and firm demand from the biofuel sector in the Americas for soy and sunflower oils.”
Meanwhile, the sugar price index climbed nearly 1.9% from May amid concern over the likely impact of adverse weather and monsoons on production in Brazil and India. The dairy price index was higher as well, inching up 1.2% from May on the heels of increased global demand for near-term deliveries, seasonally falling milk deliveries in Western Europe, and low inventories in Oceania.
The meat price index was relatively little changed in June, as small increases in sheep, pork, and beef largely offset a supply-led decline in international poultry prices.
