Global food prices increased in July, primarily due to rising international costs for meat and vegetable oils, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported on Friday.
The FAO Food Price Index climbed 1.6% month-on-month to 130.1 points in July, reflecting heightened pressures in key commodity markets.
The vegetable oil price index surged 7.1% during the month, reaching a three-year high of 166.8 points. This increase was driven by higher prices for palm, soybean, and sunflower oils. Palm oil prices rose amid strong global demand and increased competitiveness, while sunflower oil prices climbed due to shrinking export supplies from the Black Sea region. In contrast, rapeseed oil prices declined, influenced by limited new crop availability in Europe.
Meat prices also contributed to the overall increase, with the meat price index rising 1.2% to a record high of 127.3 points. Strong import demand from major buyers such as China and the United States pushed up prices for beef and mutton.
Meanwhile, the dairy price index edged down slightly by 0.1% from June to 155.3 points, marking the first decline since April 2024. The report attributed this dip to falling prices for butter and milk powders, reflecting abundant export supplies and subdued import demand—particularly from Asia. However, cheese prices continued to climb, buoyed by robust demand in Asian and Near East markets alongside tighter export availability in the European Union.
The cereal price index decreased 0.8% month-over-month to 106.5 points, while the sugar price index slipped 0.2% to 103.3 points.
Despite the monthly increase, the overall food price index remained 18.8% below its peak in March 2022 but was still 7.6% higher than in July 2024.
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