The slight rebound in the index in april was due to a sharp increase in the sugar price index, along with a recovery in the meat price index, while the price indices for cereals, dairy products and vegetable oils continued to decline.

Cereal prices in the fourth month of the year averaged 2.4 points 1.7% lower than in march and 33.5 points 19.8% below the value reached a year earlier. The decline in world prices for all major cereals offset the month-on-month increase in rice prices.

Vegetable oil costs averaged 130 points in april, down 1.3% from aarch, representing the fifth consecutive monthly decline.

Likewise, FAO dairy products stood at an average of 124.6 points in the same month, down 1.7% from march and 22.1 points 15.1% below the year-ago level.

In addition, international prices of milk powders fell for the tenth consecutive month, mainly due to the impact of the persistent sluggishness of world import demand.

In april, international pork quotations rose the most, as a result of increased imports in Asian countries and persistent supply constraints in several major exporting countries due to high production costs and animal health problems.

Meanwhile, world poultry meat prices rebounded after nine months of continuous declines, as import demand increased in Asia, while supply constraints continued to exist in many regions as a result of widespread outbreaks of avian influenza.

International beef prices also increased, in response to a decline in the supply of cattle for slaughter, especially in the United States.

Translated by: A.M