ROME, ITALY / EuroWire / – The FAO Food Price Index edged lower in June as declines in cereals, sugar and dairy offset gains in vegetable oils and meat. The global food price benchmark averaged 130.3 points, down 0.3 percent from May. It stood 1.7 percent above June 2025. It remained 18.7 percent below its March 2022 peak.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said the monthly reading showed mixed pressure across major food commodities. The index tracks international prices for a basket of widely traded food products. Cereals, sugar and dairy moved lower during the month. Vegetable oils rose sharply, while meat reached a record high.
Cereal prices dropped 3.5 percent from May to 110.2 points. Wheat fell 4.4 percent as harvests advanced and Black Sea supply prospects improved. Maize declined 6.2 percent on ample South American supply prospects and weaker crude oil prices. Rice rose 3.2 percent as Asian demand for Indica rice strengthened.
Cereal declines offset oil and meat gains
Vegetable oil prices rose 3.8 percent to 192.0 points in June. The index stood 23.3 percent above its level a year earlier. Palm oil prices rebounded after a May decline. Rapeseed oil also gained, supported by firm biofuel demand and weather concerns in Australia and Canada. Soyoil prices slipped as South American supplies increased.
Meat prices increased 0.4 percent to 131.0 points, setting a new high for the FAO meat index. Poultry prices led the gain, supported by higher export prices in Brazil and strong import demand. Ovine meat also rose. Pig meat prices fell on ample European Union supplies, while bovine meat eased on lower Australian quotations.
Sugar and dairy lead monthly declines
Dairy prices declined 1.5 percent to 117.4 points in June. The index stood 24.5 percent below its level in June 2025. Prices fell across skim milk powder, whole milk powder, butter and cheese. Cheese prices extended their decline for an eleventh straight month as export supplies continued to exceed global import demand.
Sugar posted the largest monthly drop among the five commodity groups. The sugar index fell 5.7 percent to 89.7 points, down 13.3 percent from a year earlier. Lower ethanol prices in Brazil encouraged more sugarcane use for sugar output. The FAO also forecast 2026 global cereal production at 2.983 billion tonnes, below the 2025 record but still the second largest crop on record.