Global food prices declined again in July, United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced on Friday.
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly-traded food commodities, averaged 140.9 points last month, down almost 9% from June. The index is yet still 13.1% higher than a year earlier.
Expressing satisfaction with the decline in food commodity prices from very high levels, the FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero said “however, many uncertainties remain."
A bleak global economic outlook, currency volatility and high fertilizer prices which can impact future production and farmers’ livelihoods all pose serious challenges for global food security, he said.
The vegetable oil, sugar, dairy, meat and cereal price indices all fell month-on-month in July, with wheat prices dipping 14.5%.