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The FAO Food Price Index fell by around 2 percent in August, driven by declines in cereal, vegetable oil, dairy, and meat indices. This decline placed the Index 24 percent below the peak seen in March 2022. The major exception was rice prices, which saw a significant increase in August.

While the FAO Food Price Index saw a minor increase in July, it remains 16 percent below its July 2022 levels. Rising vegetable oil prices drove the month-to-month increase.

Commodity prices continued to fall in June, according to the FAO Food Price Index, which declined 1.4 percent from its May level. This reflects at 23.4 percent drop from June 2022.

The FAO Food Price Index declined by 2.6 percent in May. Compared to May 2022 levels, the Index is 22.1 percent below its all-time high.

Agricultural support policies provide over $800 billion per year in transfers worldwide. Such policies encompass a broad range of government instruments to support the agriculture sector, which are typically funded from taxpayers and consumers. These include “coupled” subsidies intended to incentivize producers to expand output, “decoupled subsidies” that avoid shifting production incentives, and market-price support measures such as tariff and non-tariff barriers.