Food prices ease but remain near record level

The UN's Meat Price Index reached an all time high last month, while cereal prices also increased

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) monthly Food Price Index reached an all time high of 13% in March.

Global food prices dipped slightly in May but the price of meat is now at an all-time high, according to the most recent UN price gauge.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) monthly Food Price Index for last month suggests that overall food costs were down 0.6% from April. However, the index was still 22.8% higher than its May 2021 value, as the war in Ukraine continued to disrupt trade.

The FAO Meat Price Index averaged a record high of 122 points in May, a 0.5% month-on-month increase.

The spike is mainly driven by a steep rise in the price of poultry due to continued supply chain issues and some recent cases of avian influenza.

Cereal prices were also up with the FAO Cereal Price Index rising to 173.4 points in May, a 2.2% increase from April.

International wheat prices rose for a fourth consecutive month, posting a 5.6% month-on-month gain to average 56.2% above their value last year.

The UN said that the steep increase was in response to an export ban announced by India amidst concerns over crop conditions in several leading exporting countries, as well as the reduced production prospects in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the cost of sugar declined slightly (1.1%) following sharp increases in March and April, and the FAO Dairy Price Index fell by 3.5%, marking the first decline after eight consecutive monthly increases.

Ease on oil 

Vegetable and sunflower oil costs also eased somewhat, thanks to rationing and the removal of Indonesia’s export ban on palm oil.

The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index averaged 229.3 points in May, down 3.5 percent month-on-month.

“World price quotations for sunflower oil fell from recent record highs, with stocks continuing to accumulate in Ukraine owing to logistical bottlenecks,” the UN said.

“International soy and rapeseed oil prices also declined somewhat in May, chiefly weighed by sluggish import demand in view of elevated costs in recent months.” 

Supermarkets across Europe have limited purchases of cooking oils since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which produces nearly half of the world’s sunflower oil.

In Ireland, Tesco was continuing to monitor stock levels but had not introduced limits as of last month.