World food prices rose in September to a nearly four-year high – UN
Kyiv • UNN
The FAO Food Price Index rose to 136 points due to weather risks and disruptions in the Black Sea. The forecast for grain trade was lowered.
World food prices rose in September to their highest level in nearly four years due to logistical disruptions and weather risks that affected agricultural commodity markets, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said. Reuters reports, writes UNN.
Details
Concerns about a strong El Niño weather event pushed international sugar prices to an 18-month high, while a war-related collapse in Black Sea trade at the beginning of last month drove wheat futures to a three-year high.
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in international prices for a basket of food commodities, averaged 136.0 points, compared with a revised 134.0 points in August. This was the index’s highest level since November 2022.
The FAO Sugar Price Index rose by 6.1% in September compared with August. This was the third consecutive monthly increase. Adverse weather conditions threaten to reduce supplies in key producing regions.
The benchmark grain price index rose by 5.1% over the month. Additional pressure came from worsening prospects for the U.S. corn harvest and disruptions to grain trade through the Black Sea.
Vegetable oil prices rose by 0.9%. The main factor was an increase in palm oil prices due to strong demand and concerns about production risks in Southeast Asia associated with El Niño.
The overall FAO Meat Price Index fell by 1.1%. This was linked to lower poultry prices, partly due to falling demand in the European Union after new import rules came into force.
Separately, the FAO made almost no change to its forecast for global cereal production in 2026 — 2.979 billion metric tons. This is 2.1% below the record figure of the previous year, but still the second-largest harvest in the history of observations.
At the same time, the FAO cut its forecast for global cereal trade in the 2026/27 marketing year by 0.7% compared with last month’s forecast. The reason given was lower expectations for wheat and corn exports amid restrictions on shipping in the Black Sea.