The international prices for major food commodities saw a modest decline in July, following five consecutive months of increases. The FAO Food Price Index (FPI) averaged 161.9 points in July 2016, slipping 0.8 percent (1.3 points) below its level in June and 1.4 percent below its level of July 2015.

The overall decline of the Index was largely caused by drops in international quotations of grains and vegetable oils, more than offsetting firmer dairy, meat and sugar prices, the FAO website reported on Thursday.

The FAO Food Price Index is a trade-weighted index tracking international market prices for five major food commodity groups.