The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said on Friday that global food prices fell slightly in June, as declines in sugar, cereals and dairy products outweighed increases in vegetable oils and meat.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in a basket of internationally traded food commodities, averaged 130.3 points in June, down from 130.8 in May.

The index had already fallen in May from a three-year high in April, when the Iran war led to a rise in vegetable oil prices.

FAO said the June reading was 1.7% higher than a year earlier, but 18.7% below a peak recorded in March 2022 after the war between Russia and Ukraine.

- The Cereal Price Index fell 3.5% compared to May. Wheat prices came under pressure due to rapid harvest progress and expectations of abundant supplies in the Black Sea region, while maize prices declined due to expected abundant supplies from South America and lower crude oil prices.

- The FAO Rice Price Index rose 3.2%, supported by strong Asian demand for Indica rice.

- Sugar prices fell 5.7%, as lower ethanol prices in Brazil encouraged mills to use more sugarcane for production. However, concerns about the potential impact of the El Niño phenomenon on production in India and Thailand limited the overall decline.

Dairy product prices fell 1.5%, affected by increased supply.

- The FAO Meat Price Index rose 0.4% from the previous month to a new unprecedented level, led by poultry amid strong global demand.

- Vegetable oil prices rose 3.8% driven by increases in palm oil and rapeseed oil prices, due to reasons including demand for biodiesel.

- In a separate report, FAO forecast global cereal production in 2026 to reach 2.983 billion tonnes, little changed from its previous monthly estimate.

The estimate is 1.9% below the 2025 peak but remains the second highest figure on record.