Global food prices stable in March

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reports that its World Food Price Index, which monitors the prices of a selection of agricultural commodities, has remained relatively stable, with a slight increase from March 2023 but a significant decrease from the peak in March 2022. The index includes several sub-indices, such as cereals, vegetable oils, meat, sugar, and dairy. The cereals sub-index experienced a decrease, with wheat prices improving due to favorable planting conditions in the Northern Hemisphere. The rice sub-index also saw a decline, attributed to weak demand and large stock levels. In contrast, the vegetable oil sub-index Surged by 3.7% due to increased demand. The meat prices sub-index increased by 0.9%, largely driven by pork prices in Europe, while poultry prices remained stable despite avian flu outbreaks. The sugar sub-index fell by 1.6% due to decreased global demand and mixed production forecasts in Brazil and India. Lastly, the dairy products sub-index remained stable in March. The FAO also forecasts that global cereal production in 2024 is expected to reach 2.849 billion tonnes, a slight decrease from the previous year but an increase from the previous estimate. The rice and wheat production forecasts for 2024/25 remain unchanged, showing increases from the previous year.

The monthly World Food Price Index calculated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which tracks changes in international prices for a basket of commodities, remained broadly unchanged from one month to the next. It is up 6.9% compared to March 2024 but down 20.7% compared to the peak in March 2022. The cereals index is down 2.6% from February, with wheat benefiting from better planting conditions in the Northern Hemisphere. World prices for maize, sorghum, and barley also declined, as did the rice index, down 1.7% amid weak import demand and large inventories. In contrast, the vegetable oil index (sunflower, palm, rapeseed) rose 3.7% month-on-month, and 23.9% year-on-year, driven by strong demand. The FAO also noted a 0.9% month-on-month increase in meat prices, driven by pork in Europe. Poultry prices, on the other hand, remained stable, despite avian flu outbreak in several major producing countries. The sugar index fell 1.6%, as global ...