FAO Meat Price Index

The FAO Meat Price Index* averaged 119.5 points in July, up 1.5 points (1.2 percent) from June, standing 1.0 points (0.8 percent) above its corresponding value a year ago. In July, international ovine and bovine meat prices increased, principally underpinned by robust import demand and seasonally falling supplies of animals for slaughter in Oceania. Meanwhile, international poultry meat prices increased due to strong import demand, especially from the Near East and North Africa, amidst challenges to production stemming from animal diseases, especially avian influenza outbreaks in several major producing regions. By contrast, pig meat prices declined marginally, reflecting an oversupply situation in Western Europe due to weaker foreign and internal demand, reportedly further exacerbated by China’s opening of an anti-dumping probe and continuing constraints in accessing foreign markets due to outbreaks of African swine fever.

* Unlike for other commodity groups, most prices utilised in the calculation of the FAO Meat Price Index are not available when the FAO Food Price Index is computed and published; therefore, the value of the Meat Price Index for the most recent months is derived from a mixture of projected and observed prices. This can, at times, require significant revisions in the final value of the FAO Meat Price Index.