World food prices slip but remain elevated, FAO says

(Sharecast News) - World food prices edged lower in May but remained close to a three-year high, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization on Friday, with prices relatively stable amid diverging trends in commodity markets. The UN agency's food price index was 130.8 points in May, down 0.2% over the month but broadly stable following April's upwardly revised reading of 131.0 points - its highest mark since January 2023.

Prices were 2.9% higher than where they were a year before but still 18.4% below the peak reached in March 2022.

Increases in the price indices for cereals and sugar were offset by declines in vegetable oils and dairy products, while the index for meat products was more or less flat.

Cereal prices were up 2.6% over the month, with wheat prices up for the fourth straight month due to smaller expected harvests across major exporters such as the US, along with higher fuel and fertiliser costs. Maize prices were also lifted by stronger import demand, tighter availability in Brazil and the US, and firmer energy prices.

Sugar prices were up 7.5% due to concerns over an anticipated tightening of global sugar supplies in the coming months, the FAO said.

Vegetable oil prices dropped 4.6%, mainly due to lower prices of palm and soy oils, offsetting increases in rapeseed oil and sunflower oil.