Africa-Press – Botswana. The United Nations food agency’s world price index fell for the fifth straight month in August, after hitting record highs earlier this year.
In a report, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) highlights that the resumption of grain exports from Ukrainian ports has contributed to improving supply prospects.
The FAO price index tracks the most traded food commodities globally, having reached an average of 138.0 points last month, against 140.7 (revised value) in July.
The July number had previously been calculated at 140.9.
The index fell from a record 159.7 in March, hit after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The August reading was, however, 7.9 percent higher than the previous year.
Cereal Prices
The FAO cereal price index fell 1.4 percent month-on-month in August, as the reopening of Ukrainian Black Sea ports under a diplomatic agreement, as well as favorable wheat harvest prospects in North America and Russia weighed heavily. about prices, the agency said.
But the corn price index rose 1.5 percent last month as hot, dry weather dampened production prospects in Europe and the United States, he said.
The price indices for vegetable oils, sugar, dairy products and meats fell, partly reflecting the improvement in supply.
In separate cereal supply and demand estimates, FAO lowered its forecast for global cereal production in 2022 to 2.774 billion tonnes from a previous projection of 2.792 billion in early July.
That’s 1.4 percent below the estimated production for 2021.
The forecast for cereal production in 2022, according to the FAO, has been cut due to the reduced outlook for maize due to weather in the Northern Hemisphere, with EU yields falling 16 percent below the five-year average.
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