Global Food Prices Continued to Drop in March

The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) price index fell in March indicating a continuation in global food price declines. Strong supplies of commodities, including cereals and meat, helped keep food prices low in March, according to the United Nations, with the index dropping to 173.8, down 1.5% from February and 18.7% (40 points) below levels from a year earlier.

The UN FAO’s price index measures monthly changes in international prices of a basket of five food commodities, including cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar. The latest Food Price Index Report, released April 2, shows sugar prices taking a particularly strong dip in March, down 9.2% from February and its lowest since February 2009. Less dramatic drops were seen in cereals, vegetable oils and meat. Bucking the trend of other commodity markets, dairy values in March, up for a second straight month and 1.7% from February. The reversal from declining dairy prices during the March 2014 to January 2015 was driven in large part by the constrained supplies from Oceania and Europe.