FAO Reports Global Food Prices Fell in August

The Food and Agriculture Organization announced on Friday that global food commodity prices saw a slight decline in August.

This drop was mainly due to lower prices for sugar, meat, and cereals, which offset the increases in vegetable oils and dairy products.

The FAO Food Price Index, which monitors monthly fluctuations in international prices for a range of globally traded food commodities, averaged 120.7 points in August.

This represents a small decrease from the revised July figure and is 1.1 percent lower than the index value for August 2023.

Information obtained from its website said, “FAO, Cereal Price Index dropped by 0.5 per cent from July, driven by lower global wheat export prices amid competitively priced Black Sea supplies and higher-than-expected production in Argentina and the United States of America.

“Meantime, world maize prices firmed slightly, reflecting the impact of heatwaves on yields in parts of Europe and North America, while the FAO All-Rice Price Index increased by 0.6 per cent, as quotations for non-Indica varieties increased under the influence of seasonal tightness and currency appreciations of some exporting countries against the United States dollar.

“The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index rose by 0.8 per cent from July to reach a 20-month high, as increases in international palm oil prices more than offset declining quotations for soy, sunflower and rapeseed oils.

“The FAO Dairy Price Index also rose, increasing 2.2 per cent in August. Whole milk powder increased, driven by a surge in import demand for spot supplies. International cheese prices also climbed due to higher global import demand, while international butter quotations reached an all-time high fueled by increased uncertainty over the adequacy of milk supplies in Western Europe.”

The statement also noted that the FAO Meat Price Index fell by 0.7 percent from July. This decline was attributed to decreased prices for poultry, pig, and ovine meats due to weak import demand, although world bovine meat prices saw a slight increase.