The FAO Food Price Index dropped by 1.8 percent in April, pulled down by lower sugar, cereal, dairy, and vegetable oil prices. Those drops were offset in part by higher meat prices. Although the index declined for the third month in a row, it was still 10 percent higher than it was a year ago, said the UN agency.
Sugar prices fell by 9.1 percent in the month due to large supplies in Brazil and weak demand for the sweetener. Vegetable oil prices were down by 3.9 percent on expectations of large soybean crops in South and North America, while a slump in wheat prices pushed the cereal index down by 1.2 percent. The arrival of spring and peak production in the Northern Hemisphere dragged the dairy index down by 3.3 percent. Meat was the only sector of the index, which tracks five types of commodities, that saw increased prices; they were up 1.7 percent, thanks to strong demand in Europe for pork and sales to China.
In a companion report, the FAO boosted its estimate of global cereal grain production by 0.4 percent this year, to a near-record 2.599 million tonnes, slightly larger than expected. As a result, world stockpiles will remain ample, suggesting stable prices in the months ahead.