Lhe food price index calculated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which tracks the variation in international prices of a basket of basic products, increased by 0.3% compared to March.
It had gone backwards every month from August to February. The trend is still downward over one year, with a drop in prices of 9.6% compared to the same period in 2023.
Meat and cereals ever more expensive
In April this year, the price of meat increased the most (+1.6%).
The price of poultry was notably driven by still significant imports from Middle Eastern countries and by the drop in production linked to avian flu. The price of pork, on the other hand, fell, weighed down by lower demand in Western Europe and China.
The price of cereals, for its part, increased by 0.3%. Wheat rose in particular due to unfavorable weather conditions for the next harvest in certain European Union countries, Russia and the United States. That of oils also increased by 0.3%, driven by sunflower and rapeseed oils.
Among the commodities whose price has fallen: sugar (-4.4%). Production is expected to be higher than expected in India and Thailand, while the arrival of rains in Brazil at the end of March-beginning of April helped to alleviate fears about the harvest which has just started there, explains the FAO.
The prices of dairy products fell by 0.3% overall, even if butter prices continue to increase due in particular to a drop in stocks in Western Europe.
