Global food prices hit highest level since 2022, says FAO

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) revealed on Friday that global food prices rose in August to their highest level since the end of 2022, citing poor weather conditions and disruptions caused by conflict in the Gulf and Black Sea as factors fueling concerns over supplies of key crops.

According to Reuters, agricultural markets have been shaken by soaring temperatures and drought in Europe, the threat posed by the El Niño weather phenomenon, and trade disruptions resulting from the wars in Ukraine and Iran. These factors have pushed grain prices to a three-year high and sugar prices to their highest in a year.

Reuters reported that the FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in a basket of globally traded food commodities, averaged 133.3 points in August, up from a revised 130.8 points in July.

FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero said in a statement that the rise in global food prices in August is a warning that risk premiums are returning to food markets, noting that all FAO price indices for grains, vegetable oils, sugar, meat, and dairy increased in August.

Reuters also noted that the FAO cereal price index rose 2.2 percent month-on-month to its highest level since May 2024, while the vegetable oil price index climbed 0.6 percent to its highest since June 2022.

Meanwhile, the sugar price index jumped 11.9 percent to its highest since June 2025, as output fell in a key region of central-southern Brazil, compounding the impact of adverse weather in Europe and Asia.