Meat prices drive up FAO commodity price index

Rising poultry, bovine and ovine meat prices pushed up the FAO’s basket of food commodities in April.

Higher meat prices and “modest upticks” for vegetable oils and cereals saw the FAO Food Price Index average 119.1 points in April, up 0.3% from March level.

The index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a set of globally-traded food commodities, was down 9.6% year on year.

The FAO Meat Price Index increased by 1.6%, with world pig meat prices falling. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization pointed to “slack internal demand” in western Europe and “persistently lacklustre demand from leading importers”, especially China.

A sub-index for cereals rose 0.3% from March, ending three months of declines. The FAO said global wheat export prices stabilised in April as “strong competition among major exporters offset concerns about unfavorable crop conditions” in the EU, Russia and the US.

Maize export prices increased boosted by high demand amid logistical disruptions as a result of infrastructure damage in Ukraine and concerns about production in Brazil.