Global food prices are the lowest in five years, reports The Des Moines Register.
The United Nations (U.N.) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said the food price index, which measures monthly price changes in cereal, dairy, meat, sugar and oilseeds, fell 2.6 points in March to 173.8 points. This is the lowest since June 2010.
Overall, except for a pause in October 2014, the index has been falling steadily since April 2014, on account of large global supplies for most commodities included in the index, the U.N. said in its monthly report.
Consumers will benefit from a surplus of commodities. World cereal production, which includes grains such as corn, rice, oats and rye, should reach 2.804 billion tons, 2.2 million tons above the February forecast.
Last year, the U.S. corn and soybean crops were the largest ever. The U.S. Agriculture Department said farmers would sow 84.635 million acres of soybeans this year, up slightly from last year’s record 83.7 million acres. Corn plantings are projected at 89.199 million acres—the lowest since 2010.