Global food prices remained steady in June, as increases in the price of vegetable oil, sugar and dairy products balanced out a decrease in the price index for cereals, while the meat index was almost unchanged.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) said in its global food index report for June 2024.
The UNFAO price index, which tracks changes in the international prices of a set of globally traded food commodities, averaged 120.6 points in June, slightly unchanged from May by only 0.2 percent.
According to the report, global food prices in the period under review are 2.1 percent below their value a year ago and 24.8 percent below their peak of 160.3 points in March 2022.
Cereal prices averaged 115.2 points in June, down 3.0 percent from May and 9.0 percent from its June 2023 value. On a month-on-month basis, prices of all major cereals decreased.
The FAO noted that wheat prices declined due to seasonal pressure from ongoing harvests in the northern hemisphere.
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Also, slightly improved production prospects in some major exporting countries, including Kazakhstan and Ukraine, along with the implementation of a temporary import ban by Turkey contributed to the price decline.
Vegetable oil prices soared 3.1 percent from 127.8 points in May to 131.8 points in June, marking the highest level since March 2023.
This surge was driven by higher quotations across palm, soy and sunflower oils, while rapeseed oil prices remained unchanged.
Also, after declining for two consecutive months, the FAO reported that international palm oil prices rebounded in June, mainly underpinned by a reviving global import demand due to increased price competitiveness.
The dairy price index increased 1.2 percent from 126.3 in May averaging 127.8 points in June. It increased 6.6 percent above its value in the corresponding month a year ago.
The increase in diary price was driven by butter which rose to a 24-month high in the period under review, influenced by low inventories in Oceania, which coincided with the region’s lowest point in milk production.
However, meat prices were stable in June maintaining 116.9 as in May, with a fall in international poultry prices but slight increases in the prices of ovine, pig and bovine meats. It increased 1.8 percent below its value a year ago.
After three consecutive monthly declines, global sugar prices averaged 119.4 points in June, up 1.9 percent from May.
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“The increase in June was mainly triggered by lower-than-expected harvest results during May in Brazil, which heightened concerns over the potential impact of prolonged dry weather conditions on sugar production in the coming month,” the FAO said.
In a separate report, the international agency raised its forecast for global cereal production in 2024 by 7.9 million metric tons, 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 percent from 2023/24, while the FAO’s forecast for world cereal stocks by the close of seasons in 2025 stood at 894 million tons.
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