The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) world food price index rose for the second straight month in April after higher prices for meat, vegetable oils and grains offset lower prices for sugar and dairy products.
The organization said on Friday that its price index, which measures changes in the prices of the most widely traded primary food commodities globally, recorded an average of 119.1 points in April, up from an average level of 118.8 points in the previous month.
However, April’s reading was about 7.4 percent lower compared to the same month last year, after hitting its lowest level in three years in February.
The index reached a three-year low in February as food prices continued to decline after an unprecedented peak reached in March 2022 at the beginning of Russia’s war against crop exporter Ukraine.
The meat price index rose at the highest pace in April by about 1.6 percent on a monthly basis.
The grain index rose, ending a three-month series of declines, supported by higher corn export prices. Vegetable oil prices also rose, continuing their gains and reaching their highest level in 13 months, supported by rapeseed and sunflower oil prices.
The sugar index fell sharply by 4.4 percent compared to March, which is 14.7 percent lower than its level a year ago, amid improving global supply expectations.
The dairy price index fell, ending a six-month streak of gains.
In a separate report on cereal supply and demand, FAO raised its estimate for cereal production in 2023-24 to 2.846 billion tons from 2.841 billion in last month’s forecast, an increase of 1.2 percent year-on-year, after updating data for Myanmar and Pakistan.
Regarding expectations for 2024, the United Nations agency lowered its forecast for wheat production to 791 million tons from 796 million tons in last month’s forecast, reflecting a greater decline in wheat cultivation in the European Union than previously expected.
However, the revised forecast for wheat production during the current year exceeded last year’s level by about 0.5 percent.
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