World food commodity prices edged down in May as lower vegetable oil prices offset increases in cereals and sugar, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Friday.
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in international prices of a basket of globally traded food commodities, averaged 130.8 points in May, down 0.2% from its revised April level but 2.9% higher than a year earlier.
The FAO Cereal Price Index rose 2.6% from April and was nearly 5% higher year-on-year, reflecting higher prices across major cereals amid rising fuel and fertilizer costs and weather-related pressures.
Wheat prices increased 3.4% month-on-month on expectations of smaller harvests in major exporting countries, including the US, while maize prices were supported by stronger import demand and tighter supplies.
Rice prices also rose amid weather concerns and higher crude oil prices in key Asian exporting countries.
Boubaker Ben-Belhassen, director of FAO's Markets and Trade Division, said rising cereal prices highlighted the sector's vulnerability to weather-related risks and disruptions in energy and input markets.
He also warned that uncertainty affecting key trade routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, could reduce fertilizer use and add further pressure on food prices.
At the same time, the FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index fell 4.6% from April, marking its first monthly decline this year, largely because of lower palm oil prices.
The Meat Price Index edged up 0.1%, while the Dairy Price Index declined 0.5%, led by lower butter prices.
The FAO Sugar Price Index rose 7.5%, driven by expectations that a larger share of Brazil's sugarcane crop would be diverted to ethanol production.
In a separate Cereal Supply and Demand Brief, the FAO forecast global cereal production at 2.98 billion tons in the 2026/27 season, down 2% from the previous year, mainly because of lower wheat harvests.
The projected decline follows a 6.1% increase in the last season, when global cereal output reached a record 3.04 billion tons.
Global cereal utilization is expected to rise 0.6%, while stocks are forecast to decline 0.3%.
World cereal trade is projected to fall 0.3% to 507.2 million tons, as lower wheat and barley trade volumes offset expected increases in maize and rice shipments.
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