FAO Food Price index for April 2011 virtually unchanged

The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) averaged 232 points in April 2011, virtually unchanged from the revised March estimate, 36 percent above April 2010, but 2 percent below its peak in February 2011.  A sharp increase in international grain prices in April more than offset declines in dairy, sugar, and rice, while oils and meat prices were mostly unchanged.

The FAO Cereal Price Index averaged 265 points, up 5.5 percent (14 points) from March and 71 percent from April 2010. Unfavourable weather and planting delays resulted in international prices of grains to rebound after a decline in March, with wheat and maize prices gaining 4 percent and 11 percent respectively. However, large export supplies kept rice prices under downward pressure.

The FAO Oils/Fats Price Index, which had fallen by 7 percent in March, was nearly unchanged in April. The stabilization of prices stems primarily from a strong recovery in production and rising inventories of palm oil in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, soybean oil prices remained unchanged as concerns about plantings in the United States were compensated by reports of ample harvests in South America.

The FAO Sugar Price Index averaged nearly 348 points, down 7 percent (or 25 points) from March and 17 percent below its January record. The recent decline was prompted by prospects of increased market availability, as the new crushing season begins in Brazil, and larger than anticipated production in Thailand.

The FAO Dairy Price Index averaged 229 points, down 2.4 percent from March. A good start of the northern hemisphere season has put prices under downward pressure, after seven months of moderate but unrelenting growth.

The FAO Meat Price Index remained stable (compared to a revised estimate of 172 points in March) at a record level of nearly 173 points, overtaking the 10-year peak of 170.4 points in August 2008. The recent rise in the index reflects a surge in beef and sheep meat prices.