ROME, ITALY — For the second month in a row, the benchmark for world food commodity prices was broadly unchanged in July, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of certain globally traded food commodities, averaged 120.8 points in July, marginally below its revised 121.0 figure for June. The index is now 3.1% lower than the same time a year ago.

The FAO Cereal Price Index declined by 3.8% from June as the global export prices of all major cereals decreased for the second consecutive month. It averaged 110.8 points in July, down 4.4 points from June and 15.1 points from July 2023.

“Wheat quotations dipped on increasing seasonal availability from ongoing winter harvests in the Northern Hemisphere and generally favorable conditions in Canada and the US, supporting expectations for large spring wheat harvests later in the year,” the FAO said.

Corn (maize) export prices also declined as harvests in Argentina and Brazil progressed ahead of last year’s pace and crop conditions in the United States remained robust.

Among other coarse grains, world prices of barley and sorghum also fell in July. The FAO All Rice Price Index declined by 2.4% in July, as generally quiet trading activities kept Indica and Japonica quotations under downward pressure.

In comparison, the FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index increased 2.4% from June to reach a year-and-a-half high.