Global food commodity prices saw a slight increase in June, mainly due to rising costs of meat, vegetable oils, and dairy products, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The FAO’s Food Price Index, which monitors monthly changes in international food commodity prices, averaged 128.0 points last month. This marked a 0.5% rise from May and a 5.8% increase compared to the same time last year. However, it still remained 20.1% lower than the peak reached in March 2022.
Cereal prices dropped by 1.5%, with the index falling to 107.4 points—6.8% below its level a year ago. The decline was largely driven by a steep fall in global maize prices for a second consecutive month, attributed to strong harvests and greater competition from exporters like Argentina and Brazil. Barley and sorghum prices also followed the downward trend. In contrast, wheat prices moved upward amid crop concerns in Russia, the EU, and the US.
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Vegetable oil prices rose 2.3% to 155.7 points, led by increases in palm, rapeseed, and soy oils. Palm oil climbed nearly 5% on strong global demand, while soy oil was supported by expected biofuel sector growth, particularly after recent policy announcements in Brazil and the US.
Sugar prices declined by 5.2%, hitting their lowest level since April 2021 due to better production outlooks in Brazil, India, and Thailand.
Meanwhile, meat prices reached a record high of 126.0 points, as tight supplies of bovine meat from Brazil met strong US demand.