Global food prices fell for a fifth month in a row in August, the 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 138 points last month, down 1.9 percent from July. The August index was, however, 7.9 percent higher than a year earlier.
The cereal price index fell 1.4 percent month-on-month in August, a drop driven by a 5.1 percent decline in international wheat prices that reflected improved production prospects in North America and Russia as well as the increase of supplies from the Black Sea ports.
The vegetable oil, sugar, dairy and meat price indices all fell, partly due to improved global supplies.
In separate cereal supply and demand estimates, FAO lowered its forecast for global cereal production in 2022 to 2.774 billion tons from a previous projection of 2.792 billion in early July. That is 1.4% below estimated output for 2021.