Global food prices rose in April 2025, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. The FAO Food Price Index reached 128.3 points, up 1% from March and 7.6% higher than a year ago. The rise was mainly driven by increasing prices of cereals, meat, and dairy products.
Cereal prices grew by 1.2% compared to March. Wheat prices increased slightly due to limited exportable supplies from Russia. Fragrant rice varieties saw higher demand, pushing rice prices up, while maize prices rose due to tighter stock levels in the US. Currency fluctuations and tariff policy changes also influenced market movements.
Meat prices climbed by 3.2%, with pig meat leading the increase. Bovine meat prices also rose in Australia and Brazil amid steady global demand and limited export supply. Dairy prices went up by 2.4%, with butter hitting an all-time high due to low inventories in Europe.
On the other hand, vegetable oil prices fell by 2.3%, although they remain over 20% higher than last year. Palm oil prices dropped due to a seasonal rise in production from Southeast Asia. Soy and rapeseed oil prices increased with strong import demand, while sunflower oil remained stable.
Sugar prices fell by 3.5%, mainly because of concerns over the global economic outlook and weaker demand from the food and beverage industries, which are the largest consumers of sugar worldwide.
FAO also released a new Cereal Supply and Demand Brief. The 2025 global wheat production is forecast at 795 million tonnes, similar to last year. Asia is expected to see record output, especially in India and Pakistan. However, low rainfall in northern Europe and drought in the US may limit gains.
Maize output is expected to grow in Brazil and South Africa as harvesting begins in the southern hemisphere. In the northern hemisphere, the US is projected to expand its coarse grain planting by 5%. Global cereal production for 2024 has been revised slightly down to 4.85 billion tonnes, but rice output is likely to hit a record 543.6 million tonnes.
World cereal use in 2024/25 is forecast to rise by 1% to 2.87 billion tonnes, supported by more maize feed use in China and Russia, and higher rice consumption in African countries. However, cereal stocks may decline by 1.9% to 868.2 million tonnes, although still within safe levels.
Global cereal trade in 2024/25 is expected to shrink by 6.8% to 478.6 million tonnes, the lowest since 2019/20. This is due to reduced demand from China and smaller maize exports from Brazil. On the other hand, rice trade is projected to rise by 1.2% to a record 60.4 million tonnes.
