Major food commodity prices declined again in May, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), hitting an almost six-year low as cereal prices fell substantially.The FAO Food Price Index averaged 166.8 points in May, down 1.4 per cent from April and as much as 20.7 per cent from a year earlier.
The Food Price Index is a trade-weighted index that tracks prices on international markets of five major food commodity groups: cereals, meat, dairy products, vegetable oils and sugar. In May, the Index reached its lowest level since September 2009. The May decline was driven by a 3.8 per cent monthly drop in the cereal price index, a 2.9 per cent drop in the dairy price index and a one per cent drop in the meat price index.