The FAO’s vegetable oil price index illustrates the changes in international prices of the ten most important vegetable oils in world trade, weighted according to their export shares. The index reached an average value of 174.7 points in May 2021. This translates to an increase of just less than 8 per cent month-on-month and around 224 per cent compared to the same month a year earlier. Prices of palm oil also continued their upward trend in May 2021, reaching their highest level since February 2011. The slow growth in production in Southeast Asia failed to keep pace with rising global demand, with the result that palm oil stocks in leading exporting nations remained at a relatively low level. Soybean oil received support from prospects for strong global demand, especially from the US biodiesel sector, whereas prices for rapeseed oil were assisted by the continued tightness of global supply.

The FAO cereal price index reached 133.1 points in May, which was 6 per cent above the previous month’s mark. Prices for maize saw the strongest rise (of virtually 90 per cent year-on-year), climbing to their highest level since January 2013. Global export prices for wheat showed signs of weakness in the second half of May. However, the monthly average remained 7 per cent above the previous month’s mark and, consequently, was 29 per cent up on the previous year.

The FAO cereal price index is based on official daily stock exchange and trade prices for wheat, barley, maize, sorghum and rice, weighted according to their average shares in world trade.