The Food Price Index, published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization FAO, reached its highest level since 2011.

Global food prices posted its fastest monthly rise in more than a decade in May, as world grain production is on track to hit a new record, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported. The FAO Food Price Index, which averaged 127.1 points in May, is 4.8 percent higher than April and 39.7 percent higher than May 2020. The increase in international vegetable oil, sugar and grain prices caused the index, which tracks monthly changes in international prices of widely traded food products, to reach its highest value since September 2011. That's just 7.6 percent nominally below its all-time high. The FAO Grain Price Index has risen 6 percent since April, led by international corn prices, which averaged 89.9 percent above their previous year value. However, maize prices began to decline at the end of May, largely due to improved production prospects in the United States. International wheat prices, which decreased at the end of the month, increased by 6.8 percent on average in May compared to April. The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index rose 7.8 percent in May, mainly reflecting the rise in palm, soybean and rapeseed oil prices. Palm oil prices rose due to slow production growth in Southeast Asian countries, while soybean oil prices rose on expectations of strong global demand, especially in the biodiesel sector.