World food prices drop

Global food prices fell in April, led by a sharp drop in dairy prices due to reduced buying by China and Russia and an extended season in New Zealand that boosted stocks, the UN food agency said on Thursday.

The Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) price index, which measures monthly price changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar, averaged 209.3 points in April.

This was a drop of 3.5 points from March, when food prices reached their highest level since May 2013, affected by geopolitical tensions over Ukraine, an issue FAO says has made food markets more volatile.