Global vegetable oil prices dropped 3.3% in August compared to the previous month, according to the benchmark United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Food Price Index released on 2 September.
The index tracks changes in the international prices of the most globally traded food commodities.
Averaging 163.3 points in August – a 5.5 point month-on-month drop – the results pushed the index value slightly below last year’s level.
“The continued decline of the index was driven by lower world prices of palm, sunflower and rapeseed oils, which more than offset higher soyabean oil quotations,” the FAO said.
“International palm oil prices fell for the fifth consecutive month in August, driven by increasing export availabilities from Indonesia, mainly thanks to lower export taxes, as well as seasonally rising outputs in Southeast Asia.”
Global sunflower oil values declined due to ongoing reduced import demand that coincided with the gradual resumption of shipments from Ukraine’s seaports, the report said.
“International quotations for rapeseed oil also dropped in August, due to prospects of ample supplies for the upcoming 2022/23 season. By contrast, world soyabean oil prices rebounded only moderately, mainly because of concerns over the impact of unfavourable weather conditions on soyabean production in the USA,” the FAO said.
The FAO's vegetable oil price index illustrates the changes in international prices of the 10 most important vegetable oils in world trade, weighted according to their export shares.
