World food commodity prices were little changed in March compared to a month earlier, as higher vegetable oil prices were partially offset by lower cereal values.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reported on Friday that its food price index - which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a set of globally traded food commodities - averaged 127.1 points last month. That is almost 7% above a year earlier although still 20.7% below its all-time high of 160.2 reached in March 2022 in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The FAO said the vegetable oil price index was up 3.7% in March, as palm, soy, rapeseed and sunflower oils were all driven higher by “robust global import demand.” Compared to a year ago, the vegetable oil price index averaged almost 24% higher in March versus the same month last year, the FAO added.
International palm oil prices rose for the second consecutive month, primarily due to persistently tight supplies in major producing countries in Southeast Asia, where outputs were at their seasonal lows, the FAO said. Meanwhile, soyoil moved higher on its price competitiveness relative to other oils – and resulting increase in demand – while the gains in rapeseed and sunflower oils were attributed to dwindling supplies from major exporters coinciding with a firm global import demand.
On the other hand, the FAO cereal price index declined by 2.6% in March and was down 1.1% from March 2024.
Global wheat prices dropped as concerns over crop conditions in some major Northern Hemisphere exporters eased. However, currency movements tempered the decline, as did tighter Russian supplies and Türkiye’s removal of its wheat import quota, the FAO said. World corn prices also decreased from February, as did those for sorghum, while the all-rice price index slipped 1.7%.
The FAO meat price averaged 118 points in March, up 0.9% from the revised February value and 2.7% above its year-earlier level. The month-over-month increase was primarily driven by higher pork prices, mainly due to rising quotations in the European Union after Germany regained foot-and-mouth-disease-free status, prompting key trading partners, such as the UK and Northern Ireland, to lift import bans.
The dairy price index stood at 148.7 points in March, steady from a month earlier but almost 20% above last year, while the sugar index, at 116.9 points, was down 1.4% from February and 12.3% below a year ago.
