The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index averaged 136.3 points in September, a sixth consecutive fall from March’s record high of 159.7.

The UN said the drop in the overall index was driven by another tumble in the price of vegetable oils.

That sector of the index peaked above 250 in March amid concerns about production and a brief export ban by Indonesia, the world’s largest exporter of palm oil.

Vegetable oils were at 152.6 in September, a 40% drop from the March peak.

For Irish producers the focus will be on the dairy, meat and cereal sectors. The first two of those saw slight declines in the month, while remaining relatively close to the all-time highs reached in June. For cereals, there was actually a small increase in prices in the month, the only sector tracked by the UN to show a September gain.

The UN cited the continued uncertainty caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as unusually dry weather in Argentina and the US as reasons for the gain in cereals. The small drop in dairy prices was mostly a factor of the weakening of the euro against the US dollar. (The index is based on dollar prices).

Currency movements were also a factor in the easing of meat prices, with the UN also saying that high production of beef in Brazil and other producing nations added to the decline.