Global food prices reach highest level since late 2022 due to climate and wars

World food prices rose in August to the highest level since the end of 2022, as adverse weather conditions and disruptions caused by wars in Iran and Ukraine raised concerns about the supply of basic foods, the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) reported this Friday (4).

Extreme heat and drought in Europe, the threat of a severe El Niño weather phenomenon and trade turmoil caused by wars in Ukraine and Iran have rattled agricultural markets, sending grain prices to three-year highs and sugar prices to a one-year peak.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly variations in a basket of internationally traded food commodities, averaged 133.3 points in August, up from a revised 130.8 points in July.

This was the highest value since November 2022, although it is almost 17% below the record peak recorded in March 2022, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"The rise in global food prices in August is a warning that the risk premium is returning to food markets: climate shocks, geopolitical tensions and disruptions in trade logistics are converging to constrain supply expectations," said FAO chief economist Máximo Torero.

FAO benchmark indices for cereals, vegetable oils, sugar, meat and dairy products rose in August.

Extreme weather conditions in Europe have affected the outlook for corn and sugar beet crops as well as livestock production, while the predicted El Niño has fueled concerns about palm oil and sugar production in Asia, the organization said.

The escalation of attacks in the Black Sea has reduced grain shipments from Russia and Ukraine amid the four-and-a-half-year-old war, while the conflict between the US and Iran was disrupting the flow of fertilizers to crops.

Among food categories, the FAO cereal price index rose 2.2% from the previous month, reaching the highest level since May 2024, and the vegetable oil index rose 0.6%, reaching a high since June 2022.

The agency's benchmark sugar index jumped 11.9% to its highest level since June 2025, as lower production in Brazil's crucial south-central region added to climate concerns in Europe and Asia.

Wheat prices have soared 15% compared to last year. Among the causes cited are, in particular, the "persistent interruptions in export flows in the Black Sea" related to the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The price of corn rose 2.5% in one month, driven by prospects of lower productivity in some regions of the United States and Europe, higher fertilizer costs due to the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz and strong demand for biofuels.