Food price index falls 19% in July, says FAO

The monthly food price index of the United Nations food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), released yesterday, fell 1.0 percent in July compared to June, to 164.6 points. In comparison with the same month last year, the fall recorded is 19.4%.
The indicator is still in the lowest level since 2009. According to the FAO, the pullback in prices reflects mainly the low prices of dairy products and vegetable oils, which more than offset the increase in the prices of sugar and cereals.
The FAO index follows five groups of commodities in international markets: cereals, meat, dairy, vegetable oils and sugar. In the segments, dairy and vegetable oils recorded drop in comparison with the previous month, while cereals and sugar showed high. The index for meats was stable.
Basic basket
In Brazil, the basket price fell in 11 of the 18 capital cities surveyed in July by the Inter-Union Department of statistics and socioeconomic studies (Dieese).
The largest declines occurred in Bethlehem ( -4.76%), Manaus ( -3.27%), Christmas ( -3.03%) and Recife ( -2.87%). In the last 12 months, every city record high in the value of the set of basic foods-especially in Aracaju, Brasília, Campo Grande, as well as in the first seven months of 2015, with highs ranging between 6.28%, in Manaus, and 18.70%, in Fortaleza and Salvador.
São Paulo continues with the most expensive basket, in the amount of r $ 395,83. Then, are Porto Alegre (R $ 383,22), Florianópolis (us $ 376,69) and Rio de Janeiro (us $ 372,24). The lowest mean values were observed in Aracaju (R $ 285,44), Christmas ($ 293,58) and João Pessoa (R $ 306,53). French bread items, sugar, milk and beef had high prevalence. On the other hand, the prices of soya-bean oil and tomato retreated in most Brazilian cities. And French bread, for example, continued high in 16 cities/agencies