Global food prices fell in May for the second month in a row after hitting a record high in March, but the cost of grain and meat rose, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Friday.
The food price index of the Food and Agriculture Organization, which includes the most traded food commodities globally, averaged 157.4 points last May, compared to 158.3 in April.
Last April's figure was previously set at 158.5 points.
Although declining on a monthly basis, the May index was 22.8% higher than the previous year, driven in part by concerns about the impact of the Russian war on Ukraine.
In separate estimates of cereal supply and demand on Friday, the FAO said it expects global cereal production in the 2022-2023 season to decline for the first time in four years, down by 16 million tonnes from a 2021 record of 2.784 billion tonnes.
While the price indices of dairy products, sugar and vegetable oils fell last May, the meat index rose and reached an all-time high.
The grain index also rose 2.2%, with wheat rising 5.6% on a monthly basis.
On an annual basis, wheat prices rose 56.2%.
The FAO said that wheat prices increased due to India's announcement of an export ban, in addition to the decline in production expectations from Ukraine due to the Russian war.