FAO food price index falls 1.2% in October as sugar climbs for fourth month

The FAO food price index averaged 133.9 points in October, down 1.2% from September, as grain, dairy and meat prices fell while sugar rose.

• The cereal price index fell 4.5% to 116.8 points, driven by lower wheat and maize prices, the FAO said.
• The sugar index rose 6.6% to 121.3 points, its fourth consecutive monthly gain and its highest level since December 2024.
• Vegetable oil prices rose 0.3% to 199.2 points, as soybean and sunflower oil prices increased.
• The dairy price index fell 1.1% to 117.8 points, 16.9% below its level a year earlier.
• The FAO said the index remained about 6% higher than a year earlier and 16.4% below its March 2022 peak.
• Sugar prices were 28.8% higher than a year earlier, the FAO said, after the index's fourth consecutive monthly gain.
• The FAO's crop outlook report said 41 countries required external food assistance, 31 of them in Africa, with conflict the main driver.