ROME: World food prices were stable in September with a fall in sugar prices offset by climbs for vegetable oils and meat, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) food price index, which measures monthly changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar, averaged 169.9 points last month unchanged from August.
The FAO Sugar Price Index dropped 3.9 per cent from August levels, mainly because of expectations of strong sugar stocks thanks to positive production prospects for the 2019/20 marketing season. By contrast, the Vegetable Oil Price Index rose 1.4 per cent month-on-month, marking its highest level in 13 months, while the meat index rose 0.8 per cent.
The cereal price index was barely changed from August, although the various components moved in different directions. While wheat prices were firmer, maize quotations were down month-on-month because of large export availabilities and rice prices were marginally lower. FAO lowered its forecast for global cereal production in 2019 by 2.2 million tonnes, pegging world cereal output at 2.706 billion tonnes, but still up 2.0 per cent from 2018 levels. — Reuters
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