São Paulo – The price of food dropped in May to its lowest level since September 2009, according to a monthly survey done by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States (FAO) released this Wednesday (4th) in Rome. According to the institution, the FAO Food Price Index registered 166.8 points in May, which represents a decline of 1.4% over April of this year and of 20.7% over May 2014.
According to FAO, the price decline seen this year is driven by the estimation of abundant harvests and, especially in May, by cereal price decline. The institution says that it expects great maize harvests in China and Mexico, as well as “abundant” wheat production in Africa and North America.
According to FAO, cereal price declined 3.8% over the previous month, milk products dropped 2.9% and meat costs declined 1%. Meanwhile, the price of sugar increased 2% due to delays in milling in Brazil, and the price of vegetable oil went up 2.6% due to concerns that the climate phenomenon El Niño can impact production on Southeast Asia.
The FAO Food Price Index includes indexes from the main groups of commodities: dairies, meats, vegetable oils, cereals and sugar.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
