The increase in meat and vegetable oil clues has “more than compensated” for the decline in cereal (-0.8%), dairy (-0.1%) and sugar (-0.2%).
The price of food in the world increased in July, by 1.6% over a month, mainly due to the rise in meat prices and vegetable oils, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Friday.
The increase in meat and vegetable oil indices has “more than compensated” for the decline in cereal (-0.8%), dairy (-0.1%) and sugar (-0.2%), according to the FAO press release, which follows the evolution of international prices of a basket of basic food products each month.
“Despite this monthly increase, the index remains 18.8% lower than its record level reached in March 2022”, due to the Russian invasion in Ukraine, “but 7.6% higher at its level in July 2024,” said the United Nations organ.
The vegetable oil index experienced a sharp increase of 7.1% compared to June, reaching its highest level for three years, due to the rise in the quotes of palm, soy and sunflower oils.
Palm oil was supported by the “solidity of global demand” and “better competitiveness”, soy oil has climbed because of the prospects of “high demand in the agrofuels sector on the American continent”, and sunflower oil has progressed “in the face of the tightening of export availability in the region of the Black Sea”.
Supported by strong import demand, especially on the part of China and the United States, the prices of beef and sheep have increased, causing with them the overall meat index which increased by 1.2%. The poultry prices have also progressed slightly, Brazil having been able to resume its exports after getting rid of avian flu in mid-June.
The prices of dairy products (-0.1%) have experienced a very slight withdrawal for the first time since April 2024, undermined by the decline of butter and milk powder “in the face of the abundance of export availability and low-import demand, especially in Asia”.
The prices of sugar (-0.2%) experienced their fifth consecutive decrease because of the “rebound in world production expected in 2025-2026, especially in Brazil, India and Thailand (…), although the signs of a revival of global import demand have limited flexibility”.