The FAO Meat Price Index averaged 122.0 points in May, up 0.6 points (0.5%) from April, setting a new all-time high, driven by a steep rise in world poultry meat prices, more than offsetting declines in pig and ovine meat values.

In May, poultry meat prices rose, reflecting the continued supply chain disruptions in Ukraine and recent cases of avian influenza amid a surge in demand in Europe and the Middle East.

Meanwhile, international bovine meat prices remained stable, as increased supplies from Brazil and Oceania were adequate to meet persistently high global demand.

By contrast, world pig meat prices fell on high export availabilities, especially in Western Europe, amid lacklustre internal demand and expectations for releasing pig meat from the EU Commission's Private Storage Aid scheme.

International prices of ovine meat also dropped, reflecting the impact of currency movements.

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. FAO said that this can, at times, lead to significant revisions in the final value of the FAO Meat Price Index.