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The
U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization's price index, which
tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 120.6
points in June, unchanged from May. The May figure was revised
from an initial reading of 120.4.
The FAO index hit a three-year low in February as food prices
receded from a record peak set in March 2022 following Russia's
invasion of Ukraine.
The June reading was 2.5% down from a year earlier and 24.8%
below its 2022 high.
Cereal prices fell 3.0% month on month amid slightly improved
production prospects in some major exporting countries,
including Kazakhstan and Ukraine, the FAO said.
Maize export prices also dropped, with production in Argentina
and Brazil expected to be larger than earlier thought.
Dairy prices rose 1.2% in June from May, while the sugar index
rose 1.9%, lifted in part by lower-than-expected harvest results
in May in Brazil, the FAO said.
Vegetable oil prices jumped 3.1%, buoyed by higher quotations
for palm, soy and sunflower oils, while rapeseed oil prices
remained virtually unchanged.
Meat prices were also stable, with a fall in international
poultry prices but slight increases in the prices of ovine, pig
and bovine meats.
In a separate report, the FAO raised its forecast for global
cereal production in 2024 by 7.9 million metric tons (+0.3%),
putting it at 2.854 billion tons, up fractionally from 2023
levels and marking a new all-time high forecast.
The increase reflected improved prospects for coarse grains,
which were bolstered by higher expectations for maize harvests
in Argentina and Brazil.
The forecast for world cereal utilisation in the 2024/25 period
stood at 2.856 billion tons, up 0.5% on 2023/24, while the FAO's
forecast for world cereal stocks by the close of seasons in 2025
stood at 894 million tons.
(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; editing by Jason Neely)
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