FAO: WORLD FOOD PRICES DIP IN AUGUST
News release... Maize and wheat prices drive FAO Food Price Index down amid upward revisions to global cereal production prospects... 5 September 2019, Rome - Global food prices declined in August, driven by sharp falls in the prices of staple cereals and sugar, according to a report issued today by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The FAO Food Price Index , which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly traded food commodities, averaged 169.8 points in August 2019, down 1.1 percent from July while still up 1.1 percent from its August 2018 level. The FAO Cereal Price Index declined by 6.4 percent from the previous month. Maize values turned sharply lower due to expectations of a much larger than previously anticipated harvest in the United States of America, the world's largest maize producer and exporter. Wheat prices also remained under downward pressure, reflecting ample export availabilities, but those of rice edged up, d...