International food prices eased again in June, but the apparent stability hides a much more complex reality. While wheat, maize, sugar and dairy lost value, vegetable oils, meat and rice continued to rise, revealing a global market in which each commodity follows its own trajectory, influenced by climate, energy, biofuels, international trade and export availability.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Food Price Index fell 0.3% in June, settling at 130.3 points. Despite the slight fall from May, the indicator remains 1.7% above the figure recorded in the same period of 2025, although it is still 18.7% below the all-time peak reached in March 2022.
The index's movement results from opposing forces. The fall in cereals, sugar and dairy offset the rise in meat and vegetable oils, showing that the indicator's stability does not mean a uniform easing of pressure on food markets. On the contrary, it points to a fragmented picture, in which factors such as harvests, the oil price, biofuel policies, weather conditions and trade restrictions continue to determine the behaviour of each product.
The director of FAO's Markets and Trade Division, Boubaker Ben-Belhassen, considers that this divergence reinforces the need for transparent markets, timely information and predictability in international trade, elements regarded as essential to protect food security and strengthen the resilience of agri-food systems.
