Global food prices increased in April, mainly due to higher costs for cereals, meat, and dairy products, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Friday.
These gains were enough to offset falling prices for sugar and vegetable oils.
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks the monthly prices of globally traded food items, rose to 128.3 in April — up 1% from 127.1 in March. Compared to a year ago, prices are up 7.6%, though still nearly 20% lower than the peak in March 2022, which followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Cereal prices rose 1.2% in April. Wheat prices increased slightly due to reduced exports from Russia, rice prices climbed on strong demand, and corn prices went up as U.S. stock levels fell. The FAO noted that currency shifts and changing tariff policies also added uncertainty to global markets. However, cereal prices are still slightly lower than they were a year ago.
Meat prices went up by 3.2% last month, driven by rising pig meat costs and steady demand for beef. Dairy prices also increased 2.4%, with butter reaching record highs due to shrinking supplies in Europe. Over the past year, dairy prices have jumped nearly 23%.
In contrast, vegetable oil prices dropped 2.3% in April, mainly because of a sharp fall in palm oil prices. Sugar prices also fell by 3.5% amid concerns about the global economy.
In a separate report, the FAO kept its forecast for global wheat production steady at 795 million metric tons for 2025, unchanged from 2024. However, it slightly lowered its estimate for total cereal production this year to 4.848 billion tons, down from an earlier estimate of 4.849 billion.
