World prices for meat and sugar rose in April

The FAO Food Price Index stood at 127.2 in April 2023, up 0.6% from March. The highest growth was recorded for SUGAR  - the FAO index increased by 17.6% compared to March and reached its highest level since October 2011. The reason was a decrease in production in India, CHINA, Thailand and the European Union, caused by dry weather, as well as a slow start to the sugar cane harvest in Brazil. Along with this, there was an increase in world prices for crudeoil , which could increase the demand for ethanol based on sugar cane.

The FAO MEAT price index  rose by 1.3% over the month, which was primarily due to the growth of quotations for pork. it was followed by poultry prices , which rose on the back of demand for imports in Asia and production restrictions due to animal HEALTH concerns. International bovine meat prices have also risen due to reduced supplies of livestock for slaughter, especially in the US .

At the same time, price indices for other major food categories, with the exception of rice, continued their downward trend.

In particular, the grain price index decreased by 1.7% compared to March and is on average 19.8% below its value in April 2022. International wheat prices fell 2.3%, mainly due to large EXPORT stocks in Australia and RUSSIA. World corn prices fell 3.2% as supply increased seasonally in South America as the harvest continued. On the other hand, against the backdrop of reduced harvests caused by rising production costs and adverse weather, especially outside of Asia, sales to Asian buyers supported the rise in global rice prices.

“It is important that we continue to monitor price developments and the reasons for their rise very closely. As the economy recovers from a significant downturn, demand will pick up, putting upward pressure on food prices . At the same time, rising rice prices are of extreme concern and the Black Sea initiative needs to be restarted to avoid another price spike in wheat and corn,” commented FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero.

The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index  fell 1.3% MoM, marking the fifth consecutive monthly decline. World prices for palm oil remained stable. While soybean, rapeseed and sunflower oils declined in line with seasonal pressure driven by a potentially record soybean crop in Brazil.

The FAO Dairy Price Index fell 1.7%, driven by continued weak global import demand for MILK powder and stronger cheese export offers in Western Europe.