What's New

The FAO Food Price Index, released today, fell slightly in November but remains 10.4 percent higher than its November 2015 level. This month's small decline, driven mostly by falling oil prices, interrupted the rising trend seen since the start of 2016.

The Cereal Price Index fell 0.6 percent in November and is as much as 12 points below its year-earlier level. Good global supply prospects, particularly for wheat in Argentina and Australia, have supported this decrease.

The latest editions of the FAO Food Price Index and AMIS Market Monitor were both released on November 10. The FAO Food Price Index is a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of five food commodity groups; the monthly AMIS Market Monitor covers the international markets for wheat, rice, maize, and soy and provides an overview of the market situation and outlook for each of these crops.

FAO’s October report on food price trends was released this week. The bulletin reports on recent food price developments over the past month at the global, regional, and country levels, with a focus on developing countries and provides early warnings for high country-level food prices that may negatively affect food security.

The latest edition of the AMIS market monitor, released on September 8, shows that the international price of wheat, maize, rice, and soybean has decreased since July. This decline has been driven by improved global crop prospects and plentiful export availabilities.

The FAO Food Price Index averaged nearly 162 points in October, up 3.9 percent from the previous month. This was the sharpest increase since July 2012, but the index is still down 16 percent from this time last year.