World food prices fall 0.8 percent in July: FAO

World food prices fell slightly in July after five straight monthly increases, as sliding grains and vegetable oils outweighed firmer dairy, meat and sugar prices, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday.

The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) food price index, which measures monthly changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar, averaged 161.9 points in July, 0.8 percent below a marginally revised 163.2 points the month before.

The index was 1.4 percent below July last year, a slight dip in the recent recovery from a near seven-year low hit in January.

The FAO and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) expect prices to be stable for the next decade, thanks to higher agricultural productivity and slightly larger crop areas.

Source: Reuters