Sharp falls in dairy, cereals, pig and poultry meat in October mean that the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) food price index fell 2.1 points last month to 126.4 points, compared with the revised September figure of 128.5 points.
There was a particularly sharp fall in the dairy price index, down five points to 142.2 points compared with the previous month.
This reflected a 6.5% drop in butter, 6% for whole milk powder, 4% for skim milk powder, with cheese down 1.5%.
The reason offered was higher milk production and supply in the EU and New Zealand combined with weaker import demand from Asia and the Middle East.
Despite the decline, the index was still 2.7% higher than in October 2024.
Cereals
Cereals were down 1.3 points in October compared with September, but this figure is 10.9 points lower than October last year.
This is explained by what the FAO describes as “ample global supplies, favourable production prospects in the southern hemisphere where harvesting is under way and steady progress of winter wheat planting across the northern hemisphere”.
Rising global beef prices weren’t enough to offset the decline in pig and poultry meat values. The overall index was down 2.5 points in October to 125 points, but this is still 5.8 points ahead of where the index was in October 2024.
Pigmeat prices are under pressure because of what the FAO again describes as “ample global supplies” and the effect of China introducing new import duties.
Avian flu meant a suspension of poultry meat exports to China from Brazil, which left additional product being traded in other global markets.
The vegetable oil price index increased 1.5 points in October to 169.4 points, while the sugar index was down 5.3 points to 94.1 points.
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