Global food prices edge lower

The FAO Food Price Index fell 1.2 per cent in October to 133.9 points, reversing four months of increases, Dawn reported. Softer import demand pulled down the cereal, dairy and meat measures, while sugar prices rose sharply and vegetable oils edged up. The index remained 5.9 per cent above its level a year earlier and 16.4 per cent below its March 2022 peak.

FAO said expectations of better production and fewer obstacles to export flows weighed on wheat, though Black Sea logistics disruptions limited the decline. Global cereal output in 2026 is forecast at 2,999 million tonnes, the second-highest level on record, while trade in 2026-27 is projected to fall 3.3 per cent to 507.7 million tonnes, mainly because wheat trade is expected to contract by 8.6 per cent. Rice output is forecast to decline 2.5 per cent to 552 million tonnes.