The United Nations world food price index saw a slight decrease in July, as reported on Friday. This decline in the cereal index was partially offset by increases in the prices of meat, vegetable oils, and sugar.
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) price index, which tracks key global food commodities, averaged 120.8 points in July, down from 121.0 in June. The June figure was revised from the initially reported 120.6.
As per report, the FAO Sugar Price Index increased by 0.7 percent from June as lower-than-expected production in Brazil outweighed the impact of improved monsoon rainfall in India and conducive weather conditions in Thailand.
The FAO Cereals Price Index dropped by 3.8 percent to its lowest level in nearly four years, as global export prices for major cereals fell for the second consecutive month.
Wheat prices decreased due to seasonal availability from the ongoing winter wheat harvests in the northern hemisphere and favorable conditions for spring wheat crops in Canada and the U.S., according to the FAO.
The report also noted that maize (corn) export prices fell as harvests in Argentina and Brazil advanced ahead of last year’s pace, and crop conditions in the United States remained strong.
Prior to July, the FAO food price index had increased for four consecutive months, recovering from a three-year low in February and the record peak set in March 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The July index was 3.1 percent lower than a year ago and 24.7 percent below the high point of 2022.
