Commodities Buzz: FAO food price index up 1.7% on year, Vegetable oil prices surge around 23%
The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) averaged 130.3 points in June 2026, down 0.4 points (0.3 percent) from its May level. Increases in the price indices for vegetable oils and meat were offset by declines in sugar, cereals, and dairy products. Compared to a year earlier, the FFPI stood 2.2 points (1.7 percent) higher but remained 29.9 points (18.7 percent) below its peak reached in March 2022.
The FAO Cereal Price Index averaged 110.2 points in June, down 4.0 points (3.5 percent) from May but still 2.9 points (2.7 percent) above its June 2025 level. World wheat prices declined by 4.4 percent, as rapid harvest progress and strong supply prospects in the Black Sea region outweighed concerns over crop prospects in the United States of America and Australia. While recent rainfall eased risks in parts of Australia, El Niño-related dryness and higher input costs continued to weigh on production prospects. World maize prices also fell by 6.2 percent, reflecting prospects of ample supplies in exporting countries in South America, alongside declining crude oil prices that weighed on biofuel demand.
The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index averaged 192.0 points in June, up 7.0 points (3.8 percent) month on month and 23.3 percent above its year-ago level. The increase in the index reflected the combined effect of higher palm and rapeseed oil quotations and broadly stable sunflower oil prices. Global rapeseed oil prices continued to rise, driven largely by firm biofuel demand and unfavourable weather conditions affecting plantings in Australia and Canada.
The FAO Meat Price Index averaged 131.0 points in June, up 0.5 points (0.4 percent) from May and 5.0 points (4.0 percent) above its level a year earlier, reaching a new record high.
The FAO Dairy Price Index averaged 117.4 points in June, down 1.7 points (1.5 percent) from May, and 38.1 points (24.5 percent) below its level in June 2025. Prices softened across all dairy products, although the underlying market conditions continued to diverge by product. Skim milk powder (SMP) prices declined slightly, ending a five-month run of increases, as recovering output in the European Union and improved availabilities in the United States of America coincided with easing demand after several months of price increases.
The FAO Sugar Price Index averaged 89.7 points in June, down 5.4 points (5.7 percent) from May and 13.8 points (13.3 percent) below its level a year ago. Lower domestic ethanol prices in Brazil, which declined for the third consecutive month in June, encouraged greater allocation of sugarcane to sugar production and contributed to the decline in international sugar prices. Additional downward pressure on prices stemmed from the strong pace of sugar exports from Brazil, supported by the depreciation of the Brazilian real against the United States dollar.
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