Global Food Prices 'Decline'... Cooking Oil, Sugar, and Grain Prices Drop

(Seoul=Yonhap News) Shin Sun-mi, Reporter = The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 7th that the World Food Price Index released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) last month dropped by 0.8% to 127.7 compared to the previous month. The index, which compares prices based on the average from 2014-2016 set at 100, had risen for three consecutive months from February to April before falling last month. By item group, the vegetable oil price index dropped by 3.7% to 152.2. Palm oil prices fell as production and export availability increased in Southeast Asia. Soybean oil prices also declined due to increased supply in South America and reduced biofuel raw material demand in the United States. Rapeseed oil prices dropped as the supply increase forecast for the European Union was reflected, and sunflower seed oil prices fell due to weakened import demand and reduced price competitiveness. The sugar price index dropped by 2.6% to 109.4. Prices ...