Global food prices fell in May, driven by a “significant” drop in the price of grains and vegetable oils, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said on Friday. The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks changes in international prices for a basket of basic products, fell 2.6% from April.
The FAO Cereal Price Index fell 4.8% mom, led by maize, whose price fell around 10%, “due to favorable production prospects and sluggish import demand.” Wheat prices, for which reserves are also abundant, fell by 3.5%, due in particular to the renewal of the Ukrainian maritime grain corridor in mid-May for a two-month period.
Fourth consecutive monthly rise in the price of sugar
Vegetable oils fell further, falling 8.7% in a month and falling well below their level of a year ago, in May 2022 (-48%). The “exceptional” soybean harvest in Brazil, the abundant supply of rapeseed and sunflower and the increase in the production of palm oil, which is difficult to export, clearly weighed on prices.
The FAO Sugar Price Index, for its part, rose 5.5% in May and registered its fourth consecutive monthly increase. It is well above its level of a year ago (+31%). The world supply of sugar is “narrowing”, says the FAO, while the impact of the El Niño weather phenomenon on crops for the next season is worrying.
Source: BFM TV
