The benchmark index of international food commodity prices declined in May amid significant drops in quotations for most cereals, vegetable oils and dairy products, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported on Friday.
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly-traded food commodities, averaged 124.3 points in May, down 2.6 percent from April and as much as 22.1 percent below the all-time high reached in March 2022.
The FAO Cereal Price Index declined 4.8 percent from the previous month, led by a 9.8 percent drop in world maize quotations due to a favourable production outlook along a sluggish import demand.
The world wheat prices also declined by 3.5 percent, reflecting ample supplies and the new extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
By contrast, international prices of rice continued to increase in May, sustained by Asian purchases and tighter supplies in some exporting countries, such as Viet Nam and Pakistan.
The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index dropped by 8.7 percent in May, averaging 48.2 percent below its year-earlier level. International palm oil prices fell markedly from April, as protracted weak global import purchases coincided with rising outputs in major producing countries.