Food prices decline for the 3rd straight month #UN

Global food prices dip for a third consecutive month in June
following a ten-month surge in prices, the United Nations
agriculture agency said today.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) price
index- which measures monthly changes in the global price
of a basket of meat, dairy, cereals, oils and fats, and sugar-
averaged 206.0 points in June 2014, down 3.8 points (1.8
percent) from May and nearly 6 points (2.8 percent) below
the June 2013 level.
The index had risen to a ten-month high of 213 points in
March 2014, but fell in April, May and June.
It also found that the price of cereal, vegetable oils and
dairy decreased further from its last published data in May,
while the price of meat edged up, reflecting a constrained
world supply.
The latest FAO Crop Prospects and Food Situation report
noted improvement in the global production of cereal, a
staple food in many countries. Total production in 2014 now
stands at 2,498 million tons, 18 million tons up from 2013.
The increase reflected improved production for coarse
grains and wheat crops, particularly in the United States, the
European Union and India.
Despite this good news, the agency warns that millions of
people still face food insecurity due to conflict, crop failure
and high domestic food prices. Some 33 countries,
including 26 in Africa, are in need of access external
assistance.
Conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR) continues to
jeopardize crop production, which in 2013 declined by 34
percent from the previous year. Escalating conflicts and
adverse weather in parts of Eastern Africa were threatening
local people's access to food.
In Somalia about 870,000 people are estimated to be in need
of emergency assistance while in South Sudan, since the
conflict began late last year, the number of people in need of
food assistance jumped to 3.5 million.
Most recently, the report stated, an escalation of conflicts in
Syria and Iraq have negatively impacted crop production,
food security and access to drinking water. Conditions are
likely to deteriorate.