Global food prices rose 2.1 percent in May, the fourth straight monthly increase, but stayed approximately 7 percent below 2015 levels, according to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). FAO also said that food commodity markets are on a stable path for the year ahead, with solid production prospects and abundant stocks pointing to broadly stable prices and supplies.
The FAO Food Price Index rose to 155.8 points in May, with prices rising across the index, which tracks international market prices for meat, dairy, cereals, vegetable oils, and sugar. Meat prices rose 2 percent, spurred by brisk import demand in Asia for pork from the European Union. Meat production in general is expected to be stable although poultry output, largely for export, is expected to grow.
Lower food prices than last year means that the world’s food import bill is on course to fall to $986 billion this year, below $1 trillion for the first time since 2009, even as traded volumes increase, according to FAO’s biennial Food Outlook.
