The last monthly report on global food prices before the summer is now out.

According to data from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), published Tuesday, global food prices have barely budged since April but the big picture remains bleak: the global price for a basket of basic foods is still 37% higher than it was this time last year.

High and volatile food prices are also likely to prevail for the rest of the year, and into 2012, according to the FAO's biannual report on global food markets, also published on Tuesday. The UN agency warns that weather conditions - too much or too little rain - could weaken maize and wheat yields in Europe and North America, and an overall rundown on food inventories is set to tighten global supply.

Earlier this year, international food prices soared to levels last seen in 2007-08, when a global food crisis provoked riots in 30 countries. Last week, Oxfam launched a new international campaign on the global food system, warning that food prices could double over the next 20 years and mark the beginning of a permanent food crisis.

The FAO food index averaged 232 points in May, down only slightly from 235 points in April when the World Bank said rising food prices had pushed 44 million more people into extreme poverty, (those living on $1.25 a day). The FAO food price index takes the average of five price indices (meat, dairy, cereals, oils and sugar) and considers a total of 55 commodity quotations deemed representative of international food prices by FAO specialists.

Roll over the chart to see the data.

Behind the soaring food prices lies a debate about what's to blame. Everyone has a favourite culprit: a growing population, a concentration of corporate control, a booming biofuels industry, China's demand for meat. Others point to the massive influx of big investors into deregulated commodities markets – searching for a "safe bet" after the dotcom bubble burst – who speculate on the future price of food. On Sunday, a UN conference on trade and development said it may be necessary for governments to intervene with regulation to rein in rising food prices. The FAO adds that more must be done to improve transparency in global food markets.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that current food prices could push the agency into a serious budget gap where it might need to make painful decisions - reducing rations or cutting the number of people who receive WFP food aid.

Meanwhile governments in developing countries around the world are struggling to contain food prices and fear fresh food riots. In Caribbean countries, which are increasingly dependent on imported food, governments have called on citizens to start planting vegetable gardens and buy local produce. And in Kenya, the national consumer federation has filed a case in the high court to force the government to reduce prices of food and fuel, while labour and consumer groups have joined together to threaten mass action over the soaring price of unga (maize flour).

What to do about high and volatile food prices will no doubt top the agenda when G20 agricultural ministers gather in Paris for their first official meeting.

In the meantime, we've pulled out all the data on global food prices from the FAO. Some highlights:

• In May, the FAO food price index averaged 232 points, down only slightly from 235 in April and still up 37% from last year. The slight drop in the cost of cereals and sugar was more than offset by increases in meat and dairy prices • The index has hovered above 231 points since the beginning of 2011, and reached a historic peak of 237 points in February - higher than the average 213.5 points in 2008 and the highest level since the UN food agency began monitoring food prices in 1990 • The global cost of meat hit a record high in May, with 183 points on the FAO's meat price index • The cost of oils and fats remained unchanged in May, at 259 points. But this is still historically high and up 52% from last year • The overall index dropped to its lowest level in May 2002, at 85.3 points • The cost of sugar spiked in 2006, 2010, and again in 2011. In May the sugar index fell just under 311 points, down 10% from April and 26% from January. The FAO points to the new crushing season in Brazil and larger than anticipated production in Thailand as possible explanations.

Note: The next Food Price Index comes out after the summer recess, on 8 September.

The full data is below. What can you do with it?

Data summary

FAO food price indices 2001-present Click heading to sort table. Download this data Date Food Price Index Meat Price Index Dairy Price Index Cereals Price Index Oils Price Index Sugar Price Index 1/2001 92 90.1 103.9 89.3 59.9 146.5 2/2001 92.8 96 103.5 87.7 57.8 140.1 3/2001 94.1 100.7 104.7 86.6 60.8 131.6 4/2001 92.5 99.4 104.9 84.3 60.4 124.1 5/2001 94 100.1 109.2 84.3 58.2 136 6/2001 92.8 97 109.8 83.6 61.8 128.3 7/2001 95.4 96.6 110.6 87.1 75.4 124.8 8/2001 95.2 97.2 109.6 86.7 79.6 115.1 9/2001 93.7 97.9 109 85.8 72.9 108.4 10/2001 91.8 95.8 110.7 85.3 69.4 96.4 11/2001 92.6 93.8 107.3 86.6 75.7 108.9 12/2001 92.3 93.4 101.5 87 79.2 111.1 1/2002 90.2 91.4 94.8 87.1 77.2 110.5 2/2002 88.3 92.1 94.8 85.3 74.8 92.9 3/2002 88.4 94.4 91.2 84.5 74.5 95 4/2002 86.8 91.2 88.2 82.5 76.9 97.7 5/2002 85.3 89.6 80.7 84.6 80.9 86.2 6/2002 86.1 90.1 76.3 87.3 87.8 81.6 7/2002 88.1 90.7 72.7 93.5 88.8 90.6 8/2002 89.7 88.3 71.7 100.3 93.9 89.3 9/2002 93 88.2 73.9 110.9 90 98.8 10/2002 93.4 86.3 75.8 110 93.4 106.6 11/2002 95.2 86.8 80.5 107.5 101.5 111.1 12/2002 94.6 85.5 86.4 101.3 104.4 112.8 1/2003 95.5 89.1 89.3 98.5 102 116.2 2/2003 97.2 91.2 92.7 98.5 99 127.7 3/2003 95.3 91.3 93.8 95.8 95 116.8 4/2003 94.5 91.2 92 95.5 95.6 110 5/2003 95.4 93.2 91.7 97.4 97.8 101.7 6/2003 95.6 96 91.6 95.7 99.6 95.4 7/2003 94.7 96.6 92.7 92.7 95.2 97.1 8/2003 96.2 97.7 93.6 97.6 92.7 96.9 9/2003 98.2 102.8 96.5 97.5 96.9 84.9 10/2003 100.8 102.7 100.6 98.4 109.2 84.6 11/2003 103.6 104.5 102.4 103.6 111.4 86.3 12/2003 105.3 104.9 104.5 105.4 115.2 89.2 1/2004 108.4 112.2 106.8 108 115.4 82.4 2/2004 109.6 107.8 113 110.6 121.4 82.9 3/2004 113.2 111.9 114.7 114.7 122.8 91.6 4/2004 113.4 109.1 115.7 117.6 123.2 93.3 5/2004 111.9 107.9 119.1 115.3 117.8 90 6/2004 114 116.9 124.2 111.6 106.9 98.3 7/2004 113 116.9 127.4 103 105.8 112.3 8/2004 112.3 117.4 127.7 100.5 106.7 107.5 9/2004 112.8 116.7 128.8 101.6 107.3 109.1 10/2004 112.1 113.6 129.6 100.6 105.7 119.9 11/2004 113.7 116.3 131.8 102 107.2 115.8 12/2004 114.4 117.4 132.9 103 105.7 117.1 1/2005 114.8 117.8 133.6 104 101.5 123.7 2/2005 114.1 116.3 134.3 102.4 99.8 129.2 3/2005 117 119.7 135 105 107.5 126 4/2005 114.8 119.1 133.6 100.6 105.4 121.9 5/2005 115.9 123.6 134.2 99.7 103.8 121.8 6/2005 117.1 123.8 133.9 101.7 104.6 128.4 7/2005 117 120.5 135.1 102.9 103.8 136.8 8/2005 116.8 120.3 137.3 101.8 100.7 141 9/2005 118.7 121.3 138 104.6 102.6 146.3 10/2005 120.4 120.2 137.6 107 107.3 157.8 11/2005 119.1 119 136.7 104.6 105 161.5 12/2005 121.5 120.3 134.9 106.9 101.8 189.4 1/2006 121.1 113.7 130.3 107.7 101.7 223.5 2/2006 125.6 116.5 130.5 111.4 103.4 254.6 3/2006 123.1 113.6 128 110 103.6 244.7 4/2006 124.8 116.7 125.4 112 105.3 248.2 5/2006 125.5 116.5 124.9 116.3 108.3 238.7 6/2006 124.7 119.1 124.6 115.6 108.1 218.5 7/2006 127.7 120.5 125 120 112.3 227.8 8/2006 126 123.6 123.2 118.3 116.6 190.9 9/2006 125.1 122.8 123.3 122.9 113.4 171.5 10/2006 128.3 121.4 125.9 135.5 115.2 165.2 11/2006 132.5 119.4 132.3 144.4 124.4 167.1 12/2006 134.4 118.1 142.2 143.9 131.6 164.2 1/2007 133.8 116.8 146.3 143.8 130.8 155.4 2/2007 136.4 117.2 153.1 149.4 132.1 150 3/2007 137.4 117.2 159.3 148.3 134.5 148.1 4/2007 140.6 118.8 175.7 144.4 146.8 137.9 5/2007 144.7 122.7 181.1 146.4 158.1 133.8 6/2007 154 126.3 209 155.2 165.9 131.8 7/2007 160.1 127 234.1 155.2 171.4 144.3 8/2007 166.4 130.1 245.7 165.7 176.7 139.1 9/2007 175.3 132.2 252.4 187.6 184.7 138.4 10/2007 178.2 128.3 257.1 193.9 196 141.9 11/2007 185.1 132.8 268.6 196.4 214.1 143.3 12/2007 190.8 131.7 266.2 215.8 218 152 1/2008 199.6 136.6 255.7 231.4 241.6 170 2/2008 215.2 137.8 252.1 271.5 265.1 191.7 3/2008 218.1 143.5 248.7 271.7 277.4 187.3 4/2008 217.1 148.1 241.7 274.3 267.6 178.2 5/2008 218.3 157.8 239.9 267 271.5 171.3 6/2008 224.1 164.4 240.6 273.7 282.7 172.1 7/2008 220.2 168.2 238.9 256.6 264.8 201.9 8/2008 208.6 170.4 227.2 239.5 221.6 207.3 9/2008 196.5 169.8 203.2 225.8 199.9 192 10/2008 172.4 160.9 185 190.5 152.8 168.9 11/2008 157.1 146 159.6 178.2 133.5 171.7 12/2008 148 135.3 142 174.3 126.4 166.7 1/2009 146.2 126.4 122.2 184.6 133.6 177.5 2/2009 141.2 120.4 114.3 177.4 131 187.7 3/2009 143 124.1 117.7 177.8 128.8 190.2 4/2009 147.4 127.6 117.4 179 147.1 193.7 5/2009 157.5 133.4 123.7 185.5 166.9 227.8 6/2009 158 137.3 122.8 185.4 159.6 233.1 7/2009 154.1 139.5 125.9 167.1 143.7 261.5 8/2009 159.4 140 129.3 162.1 156.3 318.4 9/2009 159.8 138.4 144 157.7 149.6 326.9 10/2009 162.8 134.4 157.5 166.1 151.7 321.3 11/2009 174.7 137.5 208.1 171 161.7 315.9 12/2009 177.9 136.1 215.6 171.1 169.3 334 1/2010 179.8 140.5 202 170.3 168.8 375.5 2/2010 175.9 142 191.4 164.2 169.2 360.8 3/2010 168.4 144.8 187.4 157.8 174.8 264.8 4/2010 170 150.8 204.3 154.8 173.5 233.4 5/2010 169.5 151.7 209.2 155.1 170.4 215.7 6/2010 168.1 152.4 203.1 151.2 168.4 224.9 7/2010 172.5 151 197.8 163.3 174.4 247.4 8/2010 182.8 155.5 192.9 185.3 192.4 262.7 9/2010 194 153.4 198.4 208.3 197.6 318.1 10/2010 204.8 157.8 202.6 219.9 220 349.3 11/2010 212.7 160.8 207.8 223.3 243.3 373.4 12/2010 223.1 166.1 208.4 237.8 263 398.4 1/2011 231.1 166.8 221.3 244.8 277.7 420.2 2/2011 237.7 170.5 230 258.6 279.3 418.2 3/2011 231.7 174.5 234.4 251.2 259.9 372.3 4/2011 234.8 180.9 228.7 265.4 259.1 345.7 5/2011 232.4 183.1 231.1 261.8 258.8 310.7

• DATA: FAO food price indices since 1990

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