PARIS: World food commodity prices rose in July to their highest in over two years, as a jump for vegetable oils and record levels for meat outweighed falling cereal, dairy and sugar prices, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said.
The FAO Food Price Index, which serves as a global benchmark for food commodity prices, averaged 130.1 points in July, a 1.6 percent increase from June, FAO said.
That was the highest reading since February 2023, though the index was 18.8 percent below its peak of March 2022, which followed Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
FAO’s meat price index hit a new all-time high of 127.3 points, up 1.2 percent from its previous peak in June, as strong import demand from China and the US boosted beef and sheep meat prices, the agency said.
US beef imports have climbed after drought led to a decline in the domestic cattle herd. China shipped in record amounts of beef last year amid growing popularity of the meat, though an official probe into imported beef has raised uncertainty about Chinese demand.
