Global food prices falling

GLOBAL prices of major food items continued to decline in July, sliding to their lowest in close to six years despite rising prices of cereals, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.

The FAO said in the latest monthly update of its Food Price Index that average prices were at the lowest since September 2009 as cost reduction in dairy products and vegetable oils countered price upticks in sugar and cereals.

The FAO index—which has been falling for nine consecutive months—is trade-weighted and tracks prices of five major food commodity groups in international markets, including meat prices, which were currently stable.

Between June and July, the index eased by one percent or 1.8 points and settled at an average 164.6 points.

The latest figure was also 19.4 percent or 39.7 points lower than the 204.3 points recorded in July 2014.

“The cereal price index rose by 2 percent from June, but was still 10.1 percent below July last year’s level,” the FAO said in a statement.

“For the second consecutive month, higher wheat and maize prices, in part due to unfavorable weather in North America and Europe, kept the cereal index rising, but rice prices continued to fall,” the agency added.

In an earlier report, the FAO forecast a 25-percent fall in the volume of Philippine-bound private-sector importation of milled rice in the harvest year July 2015-June 2016.

Based on the FAO’s latest Crop Prospects and Food Situation report, commercial rice imports over the next 12 months were expected at 3.97 million tons, down from 5.2 million tons previously.

The United Nations agency observed that several countries in Asia, including the Philippines, experienced well below-average precipitation, which has led to severe shortage of soil moisture in some areas.