Global food prices fall for 1st time in 12 months: UN body

ANKARA – World food prices fell in June for the first time in 12 months, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Thursday.

Following 12 consecutive monthly increases, the FAO Food Price Index slipped 2.5 percent from May, averaging at 124.6 points this June.

The figure was still 33.9 percent above its level in the same period last year, data showed.

The fall was stemmed from declines in the prices of vegetable oils, cereals and, though more moderately, dairy products.

The FAO Food Price Index is a trade-weighted index that tracks international market prices of five major food commodity groups.

The vegetable oil price index posted the largest decrease at 9.8 percent, marking a four-month dip, driven by lower international prices of palm, soy and sunflower oils.

The FAO Cereal Price Index slipped 2.6 percent from May, but remained 33.8 percent higher than its value in June 2020.

The dairy price index went down by 1 percent during the same period as international quotations for all dairy products represented in the index fell, with butter registering the highest drop.

On the contrary, the FAO Meat Price Index climbed 2.1 percent for the ninth consecutive month in June but still 8.0 percent below its peak reached in August 2014.

The sugar price index also rose 0.9 percent month-on-month in June, marking the third consecutive monthly increase and reaching a new multi-year high. (Anadolu)