UN: Global benchmarks for food commodities were largely unchanged in July, with gains in vegetable oils, meat and sugar offsetting declines in cereals, according to the Rome-based United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
This marked the second month in a row of stable prices, with the UN FAO food price index averaging 120.8 points in July, slightly below its revised reading of 121.0 for June.
This figure was 3.1 percent lower than the corresponding figures last July.
The Food Price Index tracks monthly changes in international prices for a set of globally traded food commodities.
The FAO Cereal Price Index fell 3.8 percent from June as world export prices of major grains fell for the second consecutive month.
Wheat prices fell due to increased availability from winter harvests and favorable conditions in Canada and the United States.
Corn prices also fell with advancing harvests in Argentina and Brazil and strong harvest conditions in the US.
Conversely, the vegetable oil price index rose 2.4 percent, driven by high demand for soybean oil in the biofuels sector and poor prospects for sunflower and canola oil harvests.
Similarly, the Meat Price Index rose 1.2 percent due to strong import demand for various meats, despite a slight decline in pork prices.
The sugar price index also rose 0.7 percent, weighed down by lower-than-expected production in Brazil.
