Stable Global Food Prices, Record Grain Production ForecastStable Global Food Prices, Record Grain Production Forecast In its latest report, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) announced that global food prices remained stable in June. This marks the fourth consecutive month without a decline, following a steady decrease over the past two years. The FAO’s Food Price Index averaged 120.6 points in June, unchanged from May. While this represents a 2.1% drop compared to June 2023, it remains 24.8% below the all-time high reached in March 2022 after the Russia-Ukraine conflict erupted. Prices for cereals and grain products, the index’s largest component, decreased by 3% month-over-month due to favorable growing conditions in the northern hemisphere. Vegetable oil prices, on the other hand, increased by 3.1% as palm oil demand surged. Dairy prices witnessed a 1.2% rise in June, driven by higher demand for butter. Sugar prices also saw an increase of 1.9%, primarily due to concerns about the upcoming harvest in Brazil. Notably, the FAO has revised its forecast for global cereal production in 2024 to a record high of 2,854 million tonnes. This is attributed to favorable weather conditions and strong agricultural policies in major producing regions.
Global food prices remained stable in June, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported on Friday. The FAO also forecast that global grain production would reach a record high in 2024.
The broad FAO Food Price Index averaged 120.6 points last month, virtually unchanged from May. This was the fourth consecutive month without a decline, after a steady decline for almost two years, according to Xinhua reports.
However, compared to June 2023, the index was down 2.1 percent. It also remained significantly lower, at 24.8 percent below its all-time high in March 2022, which came amid global price increases following the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Prices of cereals and grain products, the largest component of the index, fell 3 percent from May, due to robust wheat harvests and favorable growing conditions in the northern hemisphere, the FAO said. Over the same period, prices of rice and corn fell slightly due to weaker demand.
Vegetable oil prices rose 3.1 percent compared to May due to higher demand for palm oil. Increased demand from the biofuel sector also contributed to pressure on soybean and sunflower oil prices.
Dairy prices rose in June, up 1.2 percent from May and 6.6 percent from the year-earlier level. Butter prices reached a two-year high as global demand grew. However, production declines in Western Europe and low stocks in Oceania contributed to upward pressure on prices.
Sugar prices rose 1.9 percent from the previous month, rebounding after three straight months of declines, driven mainly by concerns about the harvest in Brazil, the world’s largest sugar producer.
The FAO has revised its forecast for global cereal production in 2024 to a record high of 2,854 million tonnes, according to its “Cereal Supply and Demand Brief” published on Friday.
