Rising vegetable oil prices offset lower prices for wheat, corn, rice and sugar

The FAO Food Price Index remained largely stable in March, with a slight increase from February due to a decrease in cereal and sugar prices being balanced by a rise in vegetable oil prices. The index is 6.9% higher than last year but 20.7% lower than its peak in March 2022. The Cereal Price Index experienced a 2.6% drop, with falls in global wheat, maize, and sorghum prices, while the Vegetable Oil Price Index increased by 3.7% due to strong global demand. The Meat Price Index also rose, driven by higher pork prices in Europe, and the Dairy Price Index was unchanged from February. The Sugar Price Index fell by 1.6% due to signs of weaker global demand and production concerns in key areas.

The FAO Food Price Index, a gauge of global food price developments, was largely unchanged in March from a revised February reading as declines in global cereal and sugar prices offset a significant increase in vegetable oil prices, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said on Friday. The index, which tracks monthly changes in international prices for a range of globally traded food commodities, averaged 127.1 points in March, up 6.9% from a year earlier but still 20.7% below its peak in March 2022. The FAO Cereal Price Index fell 2.6% in March and was 1.1% lower than in March 2024. Global wheat prices fell as concerns about crop conditions in some major Northern Hemisphere exporters eased, although currency movements cushioned the decline. Global maize prices also fell from February, as did sorghum. The FAO Rice Price Index fell by 1.7 percent amid weak import demand and ample export supply. In contrast, the FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index rose by ...