ROME, July 7. /TASS/. The benchmark index of international food commodity prices continue declining, led by price decreases for all major cereals and most types of vegetable oils, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said in a statement on Friday.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly-traded food commodities, averaged 122.3 points in June, down 1.4% from May and 23.4% from its peak in March 2022.

In particular, the FAO Cereal Price Index went down 2.1% in June month-on-month. International coarse grain quotations in June decreased by 3.4%, driven mostly by increased maize supplies from ongoing harvests in Argentina and Brazil, as well as improved output prospects in key producing areas of the US, the organization said.

International wheat prices dropped by 1.3%, as harvests began in the Northern Hemisphere, influenced by ample supplies and a lower export tax in the Russian Federation, along with improved conditions in the US. International rice prices declined by 1.2% amid subdued demand for non-Indica varieties and efforts by Pakistan to attract export sales, according to FAO.

However, "high food prices, economic downturns, conflict, droughts and the impending risk of El Nino weather patterns in several regions are aggravating food security concerns in many parts of the world," the statement said. While world cereal production is forecast to expand by 1.1% in 2023 from the year before, it is predicted to contract in the group of 44 Low Income Food Deficit Countries, pushing up import needs, FAO said.