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LoginGlobal Food Prices Surge in August to Hit Highest Level Since 2022
Rome, September 04 (QNA) - Global food prices rose in August to their highest level since late 2022, driven by adverse weather conditions and disruptions linked to conflicts in the Middle East and the Black Sea region, raising concerns over supplies of key crops.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a report issued Friday that agricultural commodity markets have been disrupted by a sharp rise in temperatures and drought across Europe, as well as the threat posed by the El Niño weather phenomenon. Trade disruptions caused by the wars in Ukraine and Iran also contributed to the increase, pushing grain prices to their highest level in three years and sugar prices to their highest level in a year.
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in a basket of internationally traded food commodities, averaged 133.3 points in August, up from a revised 130.8 points in July.
The August reading was the highest since November 2022, although it remained about 17 percent below the index's record high of March 2022, following the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The FAO Cereal Price Index rose 2.2 percent to 116.3 points, its highest level since May 2024, as prices for all major cereals increased amid strong demand, unfavorable weather conditions and continued uncertainty over export flows through the Black Sea.
Global wheat prices climbed 2.6 percent during August and 15 percent year-on-year, amid logistical disruptions in the Black Sea and deteriorating crop prospects in Europe due to heat and drought.
Corn prices increased 2.5 percent on concerns over production in the United States and the European Union, as well as disruptions to Ukrainian exports.
The FAO said the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and resulting concerns over the supply of agricultural inputs, provided additional support to corn prices. Sorghum prices rose 3.9 percent, while barley prices increased 2.6 percent. The FAO Rice Price Index also edged up 0.5 percent.
All of the FAO's food price indices for cereals, vegetable oils, sugar, meat and dairy products increased in August. (QNA)
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