FAO Food Price Index Continues to Fall

Reuters News reported on Friday that, “The United Nations food agency’s world price index fell in June to its lowest level in more than two years, pushed down by a drop in the cost of sugar, vegetable oils, cereals and dairy products.

“The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) price index, which tracks the most globally-traded food commodities, averaged 122.3 points in June against a revised 124.0 for the previous month, the agency said on Friday.”

The article noted that, “The June score marked the lowest since April 2021 and meant the index is now 23.4% below an all-time peak reached in March 2022 following the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“In a separate report on cereals supply and demand, FAO forecast world cereal production this year at 2.819 billion tonnes, slightly up on last month’s estimate and a 1.1% increase on 2022 levels.”

Also Friday, Dow Jones writer Yusuf Khan reported that, “Food prices continued to slide in June, helping ease inflation pressures on consumers globally, while grain production is expected to climb further in 2023/24, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday.”

Khan pointed out that, “Corn prices, for example, fell for a fifth consecutive month, led by plentiful supplies coming from South America, while rain toward the end of June in key U.S. growing states helped ease concerns over crop conditions. Wheat prices fell 1.3% while rice dropped 1.2%, according to the FAO.”