Food prices fall in April: FAO

By Dilara Zengin

ANKARA

Global food prices in April dropped due to expectations of ongoing robust supplies of main products, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a statement released on Thursday.

"The FAO Food Price Index averaged 168 points in April, down 1.8 percent from March although remaining 10 percent higher than a year earlier," the organization said.

The FAO Food Price Index is a trade-weighted index that tracks international market prices of five major food commodity groups.

The organization said the 9.1 percent drop of the sugar price index led to the decline in April. Large export supplies from Brazil and weak global import demand were the factors in lower sugar prices.

The vegetable oil price index fell 3.9 percent in April because of weakening demand for palm oil and expectations of bumper soy harvests and plantings in South and North America, the FAO said.

The cereal price index also decreased 1.2 percent while the diary price index declined by 3.3 percent.

However, the FAO Meat Price Index rose 1.7 percent in April compared to previous month, the organization said.

Meanwhile, the FAO also revealed its 2017 forecast in the cereal market expecting an annual drop of 0.4 percent in cereal production from 2016.