March FAO Food Price Index Slips

A measure of global food prices retracted during March.  The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index averaged nearly 171 points in March, down almost five points from February, but still 13% above its level a year earlier.  The Index consists of the average of five commodity group price indices, weighted with the average export shares of each of the groups for 2002-2004.

With the exception of meat, the indices of all other commodities used in the calculation of the index dropped in March, especially those of sugar and vegetable oils.  The FAO Cereal Price Index averaged 147.8 points in March, down 1.8%, and the Vegetable Oil Price Index averaged 167.6 points in March, down for the second consecutive month, dropping 6.2 percent from February. The dairy index averaged 189.8, down 2.3%, and the meat index average 163.2, up 0.7%. Finally, global sugar prices were down 10%.

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