World food prices continued to decline for the fifth consecutive month in August, with vegetable oils even below their level a year ago, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported on Friday.
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks international prices for a range of commodities, has been falling steadily since hitting an all-time high in March following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In August it registered a new decrease, more moderate, of 1.9% in one month.
The vegetable oil price index fell 3.3% in August, “reaching a level slightly below that of August 2021”.
Sunflower, palm and rapeseed oil prices fell and only soybeans “increased moderately, due to concerns about the impact of adverse weather conditions on US production,” the organization said.
The FAO cereal index fell 1.4% in a month, due to a “5.1% drop in international wheat prices, reflecting improved production prospects in North America and Russia, as well as the resumption of exports from the Black Sea ports in Ukraine”.