Food price watch June 2015
International food prices declined 14% between August 2014 and May 2015, sliding into a five-year low and continuing the sharp price declines observed in previous months. Price declines have been generalized across key food commodities—although to different extents—and are the result of continuously improving production outlooks and strong levels of food stocks. Yet uncertainties have not completely dissipated, and the arrival of El Niño, the dollar appreciation, and recent increases of oil prices—after months of continued declines—might have effects on international food prices in the upcoming months. Domestic prices of grains have remained mostly stable during the last year, an outcome associated with favorable production and international food price declines. The largest increases in domestic food prices were observed in countries whose currencies depreciated and where weather-related disasters affected production and disrupted trade. This issue of the Food Price Watch reflects on the unforeseen breadth and depth of the current oil price crash, and the potential impacts it might have on international food prices, poverty, and inequality. It includes following headings: global price trends; domestic price trends; and linking international oil and food prices.