The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index increased by 7.5% in November compared to the previous month, according to the benchmark United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Food Price Index (FFPI).
The FFPI tracks changes in the international prices of the most globally traded food commodities and the FAO’s Vegetable Oil Price Index illustrates changes in international prices of the 10 most important vegetable oils in world trade, weighted according to their export shares.
Averaging 164.1 points in November, a month-on-month rise of 11.4 points, the FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index reached its highest level since July 2022, the 6 December report said.
According to the report, the increase in the Vegetable Oil Index in November was driven by higher prices for palm, rapeseed, soyabean and sunflower oils. International palm oil prices increased for the sixth consecutive month, maintaining a premium over alternative oils due to ongoing concerns about lower-than-expected global production amid excessive rainfall in Southeast Asia.
“World soyabean oil prices also continued to rise, mainly due to robust global import demand,” the FAO said.
“In addition, rapeseed and sunflower oil prices increased, reflecting prospects of tightening global supplies in their respective markets.”
Meanwhile, the FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) averaged 127.5 points in November, up 0.5% from the October level to reach its highest value since April 2023.
The increase was driven by higher price quotations for dairy products and vegetable oils, which slightly outweighed declines in meat, cereals and sugar prices.
Compared to historical levels, the FFPI in November was 5.7% higher than its corresponding value the previous year although remained 20.4% below its peak of 160.2 points reached in March 2022.
